Unexplored Worlds: Edwin Tamelas, Purveyor of Fine Toys

• Found on the road a couple miles outside of the nearby town and heading the opposite direction, the adventurers find a man with wild charcoal hair with a dark, bushy beard. He is dressed all in rags hanging loosely from his wiry frame. On his back he carries a backpack twice the width of his shoulders.


• If the party approaches him, he will wave and greet them warmly. He introduces himself as Edwin Tamelas. A toy maker by trade, he travels around the countryside, visiting small villages and towns, selling his wares to parents and children everywhere. He will readily tell the party that he has just left the nearby town as the people there were quite disagreeable. Also states that his next destination is several days distant and that he would enjoy the company of others on the road. If they agree and so long as the party does not intend to travel to the town, Edwin will accompany them for a few days. He is happy to share an local lore (65% chance to answer questions about local geography or legends) due to his extensive travels.


• One thing Edwin doesn't talk about or show off is his backpack. If asked, he refers to his toys as trifles. His profession is just a way to get bye and an excuse to travel the world. But if an adventurer gets curious enough to search the bag during the night, they will discover something quite different.


• Edwin's toys are small rag dolls only six inches tall. Each is magically animated and will run, play, and talk, though in a tiny, unintelligible manner. Edwin will not share his method of making the dolls, though he will vaguely refer to long lost mystical arts. Further investigation will be cut off by the toy maker swiftly.


• If no one has discovered Edwin's secret by the third night, one of his toys will escape from his pack and try to make a break for it. As the toys are very small, it will not get far before Edwin catches it. Instead of putting it back in his pack, the toy maker burns the toy in the fire. It pitiful screams will last for half a minute before dying away. If asked, the toy maker will only say that the toy was not a good one.


• After being discovered either way, Edwin will disappear on the fourth morning without a trace. He does not take anything from the players and leaves them nothing either. If the players ever backtrack to the town from which Edwin has traveling from, they will hear rumors of multiple disappearance from the townsfolk, though no one has any idea where they have gone or who might be responsible.


• Unexplored Worlds is my attempt to design an RPG campaign in the open. Since I have not rolled a d20 in anger in many years, this is my way to keep playing without actually playing. All posts are written to be system-agnostic, so please use whatever keeps your interest in your own games. Just let me know how it goes!

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© 2010 Marty Runyon. All rights reserved.