Clearance Event
PINNED TO THE TAVERN CORK BOARD
A dark stained and heavily tattered poster reads:
You’re wanted for our clearance event!
Looking to haul over your estate?
In need of new doors or windows?
Perhaps some sturdy tables?
Don’t worry about breaking the bank when you can work with us for a bargain prize!
We have over 1000 items to sell, so we’ll make sure you leave happy and not empty handed.
Speak with Baymount at the Burgundy warehouse before it’s too late!
In the bottom right corner of the poster there appears to be a smudge or watermark of some kind, which looks like a horizontal line with a letter ‘U’ above it.
HIDDEN MEANING
This job posting is for all of you rogues and mischievous ones out there! Any individual who understands the secret language of thieves would spot the dull symbol in the bottom right corner and know it indicates a hidden message. However, the message is easy enough to decipher that parties may still be able to figure it out, even without insider knowledge:
You’re Wanted: This is a phrase intended to catch the attention of unsavory types, so they are more likely to notice the hidden message.
Clearance Event: People needed for a robbery.
Haul over your estate: The job is a house robbery.
In need of new doors, windows… sturdy tables: They need a lockpick, a lookout, and muscle.
Work with us for a bargain prize: Equal payment for everyone.
We have over 1000 items to sell: Meetings are at 10:00
Speak with Baymount at the Burgundy Warehouse: Meetings are in the warehouse on the corner of Baymount and Burgundy.
Before it’s too late: First come, first served for the position.
WAYS TO APPROACH
This poster can be a simple downtime mission for the thief of the group to get some extra coin, or it can be the perfect introduction to an elaborate heist of a magnificent estate - A heist that requires scoping out the location, acquiring resources such as unique tools or a perfect getaway vehicle, and some location prep by setting up an escape route and bribing guards to not be around on the night, all before culminating in the final act of the heist itself.
It’s entirely possible this is all an effort made to procure just a single and seemingly innocuous item, or perhaps this is a contract by those who feel overly taxed to reclaim their money through the tax collector’s ill-gotten goods and the party must take everything not bolted down.
On the other side of the coin, this is a moment for the heroes to gain favor with the local law if they’re in a position where they need to prove themselves. They could conduct a sting operation of their own, or work with the guards to uncover some greater plot and conspiracy by infiltrating the criminal group.
POSSIBLE REPERCUSSIONS
If the party opts not to take the job, rumors may begin to circulate after a number of weeks about a robbery. As with rumors they can be inconsistent and have large differences between them. It’s possible that without help from the party the thieves were unsuccessful and as a result were apprehended, though alternatively they could have been successful but something went wrong and now wanted posters are being put up.
If the job was successful, with or without the party, consider how the local balance of power might be tipped. If it was a simple robbery of a middle-class local, it’s likely not too much has changed. However, if the person was of high stature there may be retaliation in one way or another - More guards are now present, guards may start sweeping people’s houses for stolen goods, or taxes have now increased to pay for item replacements.
If an item stolen had power of its own, who now has it? Could this have been crucial to the main villain’s plans? The local authorities, or the original owner, may put out rewards for its return, or even hire adventurers to investigate further.
