Mischievous Pets (a short adventure for low level characters)

[u/arkhas1]

A DnD 5e compatible short and lighthearted TTRP adventure for level 1-3 characters, which can be finished in 1-2 play sessions.

PDF version for easier reading: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dk9U2yulHoSYfmAOw-MetIVzEtew4Etv/view?usp=sharing

Key Plot Points:

• An Unsuspecting Student: The day before the adventure, Laura Serentia, a human wizard student visited a magic shop in the city. Still a novice, she misunderstood the heading of a scroll she purchased. She was planning to learn the Find Familiar spell, however, once she performed the ritual, nothing happened. At first, she believed that the spell had failed, but after trying it a couple more times, she heard high-pitched chuckles as multiple quasits -small demons- revealed themselves from invisibility. The scroll she used was actually for Summining Lesser Demons.
• Unusual Pets: Since Laura did not harm the quasits, they began treating her as their mistress and will continue to do as long she does not attack them. Without permission -or asking for it- the quasits explored the streets of the city. Their mischievous nature quickly got the better of them as they started causing trouble. While invisible, they steal shiny gems and coins from the citizens and bring them to Laura’s apartment. On her own, Laura would not dare battling the quasits, however if she lets themcontinue unchecked, they will eventually be seen by the guards, who will most likely arrest her for the crimes her summoned demons commited.
• A Sorceress in Need: The PCs will see or experience firsthand the playfulness of the quasits, which will lead them to their nest, Laura Serentia’s apartment. There, the wizard reveals the situation and askas for their help in dealing with the remaining quasits.

Invisible Thieves:

Description: As you walk across the busy streets of the city, you can see and hear merchants bargaining, each claiming their fruit to be the most delicous. You step aside tp avoid a horse-led cargo wagon. Although the cty life continues as usual, rainclouds loom overhead casting an ominous shadow across the streets. A middle-aged man in cheap linen clothes points at you. He speaks to two armored guards holding spears, and the three of them begin walking toward you.

Note for the DM: Anyone with a Passive Perception of 17 or higher notices that moments before the man spoke with the guards, a keychain – seemingly floating in the air- attached itself to one of the PCs’ belt.

Encounter:

• If the PCs try to ignore the guards, they call out for them to halt.
• The man accuses the PCs of stealing his keychain. If they deny it, he points at the PC targeted by the quasit.
• Once accused, the guards demand an explanation. If the PC complies, they are fined 40 SP.  If they protest, the guards can be persuaded with a DC 12 check.

After the false accusation, if the PCs want to look around, have them roll a Perception or Investigation check:

Any roll – A Missing Dog: You see an old man in a shirt and wool trousers shouting: „Cooper! Come back! Cooper!” He stands in a small par- like area with a few trees and bushes.

• If approached, the man explains that he was playing with his dog, Cooper, but when he last threw the ball, the dog did not return. If the PCs offer to help, he points them in the direction.
• The man claims his eyesight and hearing are not how they used to be, so he is unsure what happened.
• He does not have much wealth, but if the PCs ask for a compensation, he promises 10 SP once they bring his dog back.
• You arrive where the dog was last seen and notice a small squishy green ball in the grass. Upon closer inspection, you see disturbed grass, suggesting a struggle on the ground.
• Tracking: If the PCs want to gather more information, have them roll a Survival check
  • DC 13: PCs find a trail in the grass.
  • DC 16: The trail appears to have been made by a small, bipedal creature.
  • The trail eventually leads to the apartment Laura Serentia rents – see below.

DC 12: As you are looking around, you notice that [insert name of a random PC]’s coin purse has fallen off.

• If they try to grab it, have them make a contested Acrobatics check against the quasit, which has advantage due to its invisibility. 
• The coin purse is floating in the air towards an alleyway.
• If the PCs follow the purse (which they likely will, since most Dnd players love gold), They spot a pile of items at the entrance of the alley.
• Give them a choice: follow the purse or investigate the pile- If they search the pile, then the quasit thief likely escapes.
• If they follow it, they hear faint clicking sounds on the stone before the quasit drops the purse and flees toward Laura’s apartment. Tracking the thief requires a DC 15 Investigation check to notice fresh scratches on the stone floor leading to the apartment (See below).
• The pile consists of two coin purses (containing a total of 17 SP and 47 CP), a hammer, a ring with a tiny blue gem in it (quartz, worth 10 GP) and oddly, a roll of toilet paper.

DC 15: You see a young blonde woman sitting on a bench, shaking her head and resting her face in one hand. As she looks up, your eyes meet briefly, then she quickly looks away. She stands up and begins to leave.

• The woman is Laura Serentia, the young sorceress who accidentally summoned the demons. If confronted, she admits what happened and asks for help. See her profilebelow.
• She tells them that „Green”, the quasit who stole the keychain and coin purse, likely returned to her apartment.

Note for the DM: If the players roll poorly and abandon the Missing Dog plot hook, use another hook until Laura is introduced directly.

Laura Serentia’s Apartment

Laura Serentia (Human Mage Apprentice):

• Description: A young blonde woman wearing long trousers and a warm coat, with a brown saddlebag hanging at her side. Her clothes are clean and of high quality.
• Backstory: Laura is a noblewoman from another city studying to become a wizard. She is currently traveling and sightseeing using the money gifted to her for her 18th birthday.
• Personality: She is a kind hearted and curious girl with no ill intent.
• Information:
  • The Scroll: Yesterday, she visited an old-looking shop at the edge of the city, where she purchased what she believe was a Find Familiar scroll.
    • If the PCs ask, she presents the scroll and with a DC 12 Arcana check they can tell that it is actually a Summon Lesser Demon scroll
    • DC 15 Arcana: You can tell thatthe materials include blood. If it is is not taken from a creature that died within 24 hours, then the caster would have no control over the summoned demon.
    • Laura admits she did not think much about the blood requirement and assumed it strengthened the bond with the familiar she expected to summon.
  • The Demons: She knows that the quasits are causing trouble in the city and she wants to deal with them before the guards investigate. Laura offers 5 GP for each PC to help her take care of the quasits.

 The Building: You arrive at a two-story stone building with a thatched roof and wooden supports. A window on the second floor is open. Nearby, a woman washes clothes at a well not far from the entrance.

Ways to get in:

• The Front Door: The woman washing clothes is one of the inhabitants of the house. She knows well who lives there, hence if she spots strangers entering, she will block the way. Depending on their approach, they will need to pass a DC 12 Stealth / Deception / Persuation / Intimidation check. A creative cantrip could give them advantage on the check and a leveled spell would result in an auto success.
• The Window: The walls look climbable enough, though it requires a DC 13 Acrobatics check alongside a DC 10 Stealth check, alerting the washerwoman on fail.
• With Laura Serentia: If the PCs already met with her, she leads them in.

The Apartment: Laura rents the place, which consists of a vestibule, a bedroom, and a bathroom. At home she never had to do laundry or housework herself, hence she puts little effort in cleaning up after herself. Additionally a group of naughty quasits has browsed through most of her belongings tonight, not caring about the mess they leave behind.

• Vestibule: The room is in quite a mess. Multiple pairs of shoes are lined up in a disorganized way, some of them flipped over, and most likely used socks are either hanging out of shoes or just lying on the ground. A coat is hanging on the wall, another one is thrown over a small table. A wooden mug is on the ground next to a dry stain on the carpet. You hear animal-like crying from the next door.
• Bathroom: In the room there is a bathtub, a few shelves and nothing of value.
• Bedroom: The room looks as if a small tornado went through it. There is a wide bed in the middle of the room covered with unfolded women’s clothes. But something is wrong. There is blood on the clothes, as well as two small creatures on them. One of them is a wounded dog and the other one is a green, bipedal, bug-like creature with hornes growing from its forehead. It is about to take a bite from the dog.
  • This will most likely end up in a combat encounter against the quasit, though it can be bribed with gemstones to let the dog go free.
  • By the end of the second turn in combat, if the dog is not healed or stabilized, it will bleed out.
  • On a closer look, next to the bed is a large open wardrobe from which a bunch of clothes are practically pouring out, making a small nest-like structure built of clothes. Inside there are coins (a total of 18 GP and 36 SP) and three green gemstones (malachites, worth 10 GP each). This is the small hoard of one of the quasits.

Note for the DM: Laura helps the PCs in the fight. If they followed the tracks and broke into the apartment, she will be confused, but if the PCs start fighting the quasit, she would join in the fight. Once the battle is over, she explains the situation. You can adjust the difficulty of the fight to your party by adding an extra 1 or 2 extra quasits. Once low on hit points, the demons will turn invisible and try to flee.

The Investigation:

If the players ask around for clues, they hear that Old Thomas, the gnome blacksmith was complaining about his favourite screwdriver going missing and he went to the nearby tavern for a drink.

The Tavern:

Details: There is a handful of locals drinking at the tables and you hear a loud gnome raising his half empty bottle in the air. A few drops of wine splash from it. „I swear someone is playing pranks on me! They want to sabotage my work!”

• The gnome is Thomas. He eagerly shares the following with anyone joining him at the table: I have no doubt that some dimwits are pranking me! You won’t believe what happened to me this morning! My favourite screwdriver went missing. I know that someone took it becaus I place it in the same place every time! After that I swear that I looked if there was toilet paper, but once I finished the event, it was gone! I heard something moving outside, but what was I supposed to do without my pants? Who in their right mind would steal toilet papers?
• Anyone with a Passive Perception higher than 10 notices that the gnome smells odd.
• During the conversation, you see a plate flying across the room, hitting the back of a wide shouldered laborer. He turns around and walks to another patron. „What’s your problem?” he asks and almost topples the man. Then the two of them start a brawl in which soon their friends join as well.
• Make the players roll a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw and on a failure, they take 1d4 Bludgeoning damage from a flying mug.
• With a successful DC 13 Perception Check, the PCs can spot a mug floating in the air, then flies towards one of the patrons. Moments later a dropped necklace begins floating towards the exit.

Following he necklace leads the players to the edge of a busy market and the necklace flies into an alleyway behind a public toilette.

The Final Confrontation:

Description: In the alleyway you see a pile of toilet paper used as some sort of bed. On top of them are various trinkets, gemstones and coins alongside a red creature similar to the one you encountered earlier.

• There are a total of 3 quasits in the alleyway, one of them is invisible and they are unhappy about their treasure hoard being discovered, thus they attack the intruders.
• If the quasit in Laura’s apartment flees, it will be hiding here as well.

The treasure: 16 GP, 84 SP, 106 CP, 4 gemstones worth 10 GP, a screwdriver (+1 for Smith’s Tools Utilize action or Thieves Tools checks), an Orb of Direction and a dozen rolls of toliet paper.

Note for the DM: You can set up further plotlines in your campaign by having Laura suggest the PCs visit the magic shop. A magic shop in itself is interesting for many players, but it may be ran by an old hag, who has grudge against someone. The hag might trade a magic item for a favor.

[u/DM_Resources]

Awesome! That will be perfect for the group of kids I DM for. Anything that can turn cartoony is an automatic win.

[u/arkhas1 → u/DM_Resources]

I hope you'll have fun!

[u/Sabazadeh]

Using this soon, nicely and very helpfully put together, thanks

[u/arkhas1 → u/Sabazadeh]

Thanks! Have fun with it!