DMs Only: Crescent Moons Trading Company

Crescent Moons Trading Company -- DM Info and Resources

Overview

The PCs are good guys in a town where it's dangerous to be good guys. The trading company is there to help cover their activities. The campaign has a clandestine, cloak-and-dagger vibe. The PCs have a "handler;" there are safehouses; and so on.

Before diving into this page, it is helpful if you are already familiar with the stuff on the basic Crescent Moons Trading Company Woldipedia page.

Here is the original planning document. You will probably need to ask for viewing permissions.

What the PCs Don't Know

We built some secrets into this game! Here they are (along with some ideas about when/how they should unfold).

Madri Brightside

Madri Brightside is the receptionist at the Crescent Moons Trading Company offices, and is listed on the game's main Woldipedia page as an NPC. What the PCs don't know (yet) is that Madri is also the first line of defense in case the Knives raid the place. Madri is a skilled Monk. If everything hits the fan, it's Madri's responsibility to slow down the "invaders" so that the traders can make their escape.

[It's important to note that not everybody in the offices is a secret Warrior of Good. Some of them are ordinary traders, who are deliberately helping maintain the cover. They do know what's going on, but they are not an active part of it. Madri is their first line of protection.]

How good a monk is she? What level? We never decided specifically. I (DM Kathy) picture her about 5th level, but the PCs are currently 1st level, so that may need to be revised upward. She should be several levels higher than the PCs, so she will look totally awesome when/if she has to bust out her monkish moves.

If her true purpose is revealed (and it doesn't need to be), it should probably be in the context of something (or maybe everything) going horribly wrong. Maybe the PCs screw up big time, or maybe a future DM decides to just write it into a module.

Abel Boggs

All the handlers know about Madri's true purpose. Abel Boggs's secret, however, is known only to himself.

"Abel Boggs" is not his real name, and the Cloaks would be very interested in his current whereabouts. At one time, he was one of their top spies, but he had a change of heart and works for the good guys now.

What prompted this change of heart? We never specified. Why do the Cloaks want him--just beause he left, or is there something more? We never specified that either. Future DMs should feel free to come up with something good.

I (DM Kathy) picture this coming to light when the PCs are around 7th level. There's supposed to be a major shift then anyway; this could be a trigger, or a result, or just part of it. Or it can be ignored. It's there if future DMs want it.

How good a spy is he? Damn good. Tenth level at least; probably higher if the PCs are higher-level.

Liam Kent

Oh, yeah, and Liam Kent is still alive. Faked his own death. There's more about this in the original planning document (see the link above).

This, needless to say, is a huge secret, and needs to be unveiled in a suitably dramatic moment. Ideally, the PCs should be at least 12th level before this comes out.

Anything that isn't mentioned in the planning document hasn't been decided. Future DMs should feel free to build on what's there. Just make it awesome.

List of Taverns

For some reason, I (DM Kathy) wound up creating an awful lot of taverns and public houses for this game. It makes a certain amount of sense; Dirt City denizens are a hard-drinking bunch, and the PCs prefer to meet people in taverns to avoid giving out their address to people who may or may not be bad guys. So, here is a list of taverns we've used in the game, along with notes where applicable.

The Blue Eel: this one is actually a holdover from the very first Dirt City game, way back in 2003. That group followed a half-orc named Ba'Bac in there. This group has met here with their handler, Abel Boggs; this is also where they met with Nightblade of the House of Darts. The Blue Eel is in Dockside (see the Dirt City map). It's a little seedy by normal standards, which makes it reasonably respectable by Dirt City standards.

The Handsome Devil

The Hagfish

The Merry Minotaur: located somewhere in the City Above, and one of two taverns where one can find the information broker known as Three-Bits.

The Shattered Tankard: located in the City Above, not too far from the Scrum

The Twixt and Tween: located somewhere in the City Below, and one of the two taverns where one can find the information broker known as Three-Bits.

The Gristmill: located in the City Below, sized more for halflings and gnomes than for Big Folk. A Drow information broker named Tarth Oleander can sometimes be found here.

The Dancing Drake

The Tipsy Troll: located in the City Below. It is clean and well-lit, making it a pretty fancy place by Dirt City standards.

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