City Doppelganger Encounter

CITY ENCOUNTER: the player-characters are approached by a local (race & sex as appropriate to your milieu) who appears well-to-do. She tells the party she must speak with them.

The Problem: a monster capable of duplicating her appearance has committed a crime while "wearing" her likeness; I used the doppelganger but you may wish to create a monster unique to your milieu. She wants the players to apprehend this monster and bring it to her so she can clear her name.

The Offer: A substantial reward for the party's assistance. The doppelganger must be brought to the patron or patroness at a suitably private location. Naturally, if the PC's are spotted during this caper they will surely run afoul of the local authorities.

The Resolution:

1) The encounter is what is seems to be and the players reap some useful magic items as reward.

2) As #1, but the patron attempts to stiff the party. Some local thugs appear and engage the party in combat after the captive doppelganger is surrendered to the patron. This would be a good time to run weaponless combat! The thugs seek only to delay the PC party a short while so the patron can make his escape with his prisoner. The ruckus may also invite the attention of the city watch.

3) The patroness is insane and has sent the party after her twin. Neither are doppelgangers.

4) The patroness is the doppelganger and sent the players after a completely random VIP with the goal of sowing chaos and spreading dissension in the city. The party will arrive at the agreed upon rendezvous and the patroness will be nowhere in evidence. The doppelganger's long term goals may include insinuating herself (and others like her) into a position of importance within the government. Even more fun? The doppelganger was mimicking another VIP when she hired the player-characters. The unfortunate model for the doppelganger will be arrested and questioned by authorities based upon the PC's description, leading to more problems for the players.

5) It's a trap! An enemy of the player-character party spotted them entering the city and is attempting to sand-bag them. The city watch will receive an anonymous tip and will show up when the PCs try to nab whatever VIP their enemy has designated as the target. The patron himself is an accomplice of their enemy with a high Charisma. In this case the accomplice more or less resembles the target.

6) The patron and the target are one and the same. He is testing the effectiveness of his personal guard and security measures. He will reward the party as promised whether they successfully penetrate his security or not. Of course, the guards do not know the player-characters are merely a test and will treat them as attackers, responding with force to the threat.