Gears Beneath the Earth

Pull off the ultimate heist amid medieval tech sabotage.

Underneath the bustling surface of the Kingdom lies an intricate mechanical city ruled by a council of inventors. This clandestine city thrives on clockwork wonders designed by humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, and goblins. When the notorious saboteur, Gavelash, plans to exploit these mechanisms to bring the city above into chaos, the rulers request urgent help from a group of skilled adventurers. Tasked with stopping Gavelash in less than 24 hours, players must navigate the clanking dangers of a medieval-tech labyrinth, confronting traps, mastering mechanical puzzles, and outsmarting clockwork guards in a high-stakes heist that challenges their wit and teamwork.

The World

Context

This world operates without magic, relying on medieval mechanical technology, where gears, pulleys, and clockwork ingenuity drive society. In an underground city, races cooperate, yet tension always simmers. This strife births espionage opportunities and sabotage by those seeking power or revenge. The absence of magic has heightened ingenuity, leading to complex inventions and fortified defenses heavily reliant on medieval tech marvels, shaping the socio-economic life and political maneuvers in both overt and covert manners.

Concept

Underground city powered by intricate medieval mechanical technology.

Impact

Technology creates power dynamics and espionage, influencing living conditions, trade, and security.

The Plot

Summary

The adventure begins when the adventurers receive a frantic plea from an inventor's apprentice in the bustling town square, revealing that Gavelash intends to unleash chaos using the city's clockwork technologies. Time is tight, with only 24 hours to foil this plan. The adventurers are guided into the labyrinthine pistons and gears world. As they traverse deeper, they uncover Gavelash's plot to reverse key machinery, which would flood the city, leveraging this threat as a heist opportunity to steal legendary blueprints. Covert movements and historical animosities between races surface, each presenting unique challenges. Negotiating these tensions and mechanical obstacles, the team races against time, eventually confronting Gavelash in a kaleidoscopic control room thick with steam and intrigue, culminating in a strategic battle to prevent city-wide disaster.

Complication

Gavelash plans to seize rare blueprints amidst chaos.

Hook

A city's clockwork defenses risk sabotage.

World stakes

The city's core infrastructure could be permanently damaged.

Personal stakes

Failure leads to immense guilt and reputational damage.

The Acts

Act 1

Summary:

The adventurers begin their journey receiving a plea for help from an apprentice inventor. The apprentice reveals that the infamous saboteur Gavelash is planning to disrupt the underground city's clockworks to incapacitate the above city. The group enters the heart of the mechanical depths, navigating through a bustling market of tinkers and engineers. Amidst increasing clinks and clacks, they uncover Gavelash's sabotage plan and face their first trial: a series of booby-trapped corridors designed to deter intruders.

Location:

Mechanical Market: bustling with craftspeople.

Challenge:

Navigating booby-trapped corridors near the entry.

Objective:

To uncover Gavelash's plan and find an entry point.

Set Back:

A crucial bridge collides, blocking passage.

Revelation:

Gavelash plans to commandeer the gears.

GM's Guide:

Create tension through time pressure and intricate descriptions of mechanical surroundings. Encourage creative problem-solving as players don’t have magic to rely on. Highlight racial tensions subtly whenever possible, and remind players of the ticking clock through ambient noise or NPC prompts.

GM's Move:

The mechanical defenses are tested and activated.

Act 2

Summary:

Deeper within, the adventurers confront various factions of races, each holding pieces of the necessary components to enter the core clockwork chamber. Negotiations play out, as they must craftily balance rivalries and garner support without succumbing to mistrust. With barterings and cunning stratagems, alliances or temporary truces may form. Before gaining full access, they must re-calibrate a room-sized mechanical lock that changes with every failure. As they edge closer to the end, remnants of Gavelash's influence begin to surface, hinting at espionage among those who supposedly aid them.

Location:

Alliance Halls: different racial enclaves within city.

Challenge:

Negotiate competing faction interests to proceed.

Objective:

Forge alliances or navigate tensions among races.

Set Back:

Allies could harbor saboteurs aligning with Gavelash.

Revelation:

Gavelash has insiders within potential allies.

GM's Guide:

Capitalize on political interplay between factions. Make mechanical puzzles vibrant and challenging, balancing character interactions and practical problem-solving. Have players tap into personal motives and prejudices, making the stakes personal, not just strategic.

GM's Move:

Decipher intricate evolving mechanical lock system.

Act 3

Summary:

The adventurers reach the core control room—a kaleidoscopic pavilion where all mechanical operations are managed. Gears grind and steam hisses as Gavelash is found amid an elaborate sabotage, poised to unleash chaos. A multifaceted battle ensues, with the adventurers needing to outmaneuver, outthink, and ultimately subdue the saboteur mid-operation. Time is crucial; any misstep might yet cause irreparable damage to the city's lifeblood mechanics. After disarming critical threat points, the adventurers must decide whether to expose conspirators or broker deeper allegiances to keep the fragile balance intact.

Location:

Clockwork Core: hub for all underground mechanics.

Challenge:

Stop Gavelash amidst rotating gears and steam jets.

Objective:

Confront and stop Gavelash's sabotage.

Set Back:

Vital control gears have been tampered with.

Revelation:

Conspiracy roots deeper; other crime syndicates involved.

GM's Guide:

Ramp up tension with steampunk aesthetics in the control room. Balance combat with quick thinking—emphasize on-the-spot choices to minimize damage. Allow creative disruptive tactics against key mechanical features for players to gain an edge.

GM's Move:

Gavelash begins engaging machinery thrash routines.

Climax:

Adventurers outmaneuver Gavelash, restoring city operations.