Noble Cause, Bloodied Hands, by William Tucker

As someone who from time to time reads and ponders over various quests for tabletop roleplaying gaming, I managed to obtain a few books that had some quests that interested me, and this book is one of them.  Looking at it, especially in the context of our party’s efforts so far, this particular book certainly sounds of interest and will likely lead to some increased loot and experience on the part of our generally polished and reasonably overpowering party.  This particular set of quests is aimed at players between levels 4 and 6 for either Pathfinder or D&D 5e, the latter of which happens to be what my particular party is playing, and provides a substantial challenge for a party that does not roll well or cannot deal with ambushes.  Given the general skill of our players, I think that this particular campaign will not go badly, but there is a lot to commend it, and the setup of the situation allows the party to make some serious enemies later on that may have serious consequences in terms of politics for the region, all of which makes for interesting possibilities for a party that is rapidly getting to be very important.

The story itself is a complex one full of darkness and intrigue.  An escaped drow has found his way to the surface and has started a murderous new gang in the city of Tibuld alongside a couple of jackelwares, and the result has destabalized the city, which is part of the Dutchy of Malair (a bit north of Waterdeep in the geography we are using).  Among the jobs this dark group has taken is one that killed the wife of the Duke’s brother, who had been engaged to the Duke before falling in love with the more noble younger brother.  The baron hired a bounty hunter to help out, and the bounty hunter in turn seeks out help from the party, having heard about their strength and prowess through the grapevine.  From there the party is hired for a substantial amount of gold and then finds itself fighting more and more of the gang and even seeking to deal with the violence caused by another gang which is threatened by the one the party has been hired to fight.  Looking at the possible loot as well as experience, this looks like something my party would appreciate.

A lot of what makes this particular quest so compelling is its complexity.  We have a rivalry over a girl, the efforts on a part of a Drow refugee to forge a power base after having been exiled from his homeland, beings who are lured by debt into unwise deals that lead them to be vulnerable to violence, the relationship between art and crime, and the way in which legal orders can become corrupted through the behavior of corrupt leaders, all of which creates an immensely complex world in which a bounty hunter and a party of tough and independent-minded characters end up as the good guys in an anti-heroic world where evil extends to the uppermost levels of society, and where even good deeds, and especially good deeds, can have future repercussions.  This is definitely a scenario I would like to play, not least because it will allow for the possibility of later conflict between the party and very powerful figures that may have political consequences, which is always something that I find interesting whether in the world of fantasy roleplaying games or in the real world.  It is certainly intriguing that this scenario is set in a world that allows that kind of future ramification.