Break a Leg! Community theater hijinks
"Wild Beyond the Witchlight," art by Mark Behm
Introduction
Two playhouses, both alike in dignity, in fair Emrys where we set our scene… Darsif Yord, of His Majesty’s Emerald Players, needs a few extra hands for some behind-the-scenes work. Across town, Branzan Brad and Her Merry Band has been stealing Yord’s ideas and putting them into their own plays. Maybe you’ve heard of “Ultraviolent Little Environment”? That was Yord! Brad stole it and put it to horn music, completely botching the themes of the play. Sabotage, or better yet — prove Brad has been stealing Yord’s ideas — and you will be handsomely rewarded.
Quest Beats and Goals
Players meet Darsif Yord
Players audition to get a spot in Branzan Brad’s new play
If they fail to get a spot, they will be hired on as techs
Players have a limited amount of time before the play starts to create as much mischief as possible and not get caught (let’s say 4 actions)
Play starts, players can choose to fail or try to succeed. The ending is open-ended! Do what makes sense for your players.
If they are caught, Brad and her crew will fight the players
They go back to Yord’s camp. If they haven’t sabotaged the play, Yord will attack them. If they have, they receive 50 GP apiece
ALTERNATIVELY, if the players solve the hidden mystery at the heart of this adventure, they can re-unite the two acting troupes.
***
Hook
Darsif Yord has brought the players to his camp on the edge of Emrys, where His Majesty’s Emerald Players have set up their traveling theater.
Darsif is a red tiefling with box braids and golden earrings. He wears a large, blousy white shirt open to the navel and has ink-stained fingers. Despite the late hour in the day, purple circles are under his eyes and he looks tired as he watches actors rehearse their lines on the makeshift stage.
Darsif Yord shares with the group:
He came to Emrys a few months ago looking for more story material. At first he was friends with Branzan Brad, but then he began noticing all the ideas he mentioned to her somehow found their way into her plays.
He will put on a play with the Emerald Players, and the next week, the Merry Band will be doing almost the exact same play.
He’s gotten word that some of their players are out with food poisoning, and they’re looking for emergency back-up actors for a few scenes.
The group should go audition, or otherwise try to get a spot in the play, and sabotage it.
He’s heard from friends that the play is a direct rip-off of his magnum opus, “Among The Hidden Court.” He’d like it to go as poorly as possible, or perhaps for them to find direct proof he can show people that Branzan is copying his work.
He’s willing to pay 50 GP/a person, and throw in season tickets.
***
The players make their way to a rougher part of town. Not violent, exactly, just not rich.
The Merry Band’s theater is set-up in a round-circle of wagons that sell fried food and beer from the windows. Colorful pennants are strung up between poles and a very haggard looking dwarven woman is shouting out orders. “Get the lights up! No, that’s where the trumpet comes in during the second act, you can’t put that there!” In the corner, a group of people are sitting around with bits of parchment in their hands, mumbling to themselves. Finally, the dwarven woman notices the party and shouts at them, “If you’re auditioning, got get your scene from Almond. We’re starting in ten.”
Almond is halfling, a greying beard, with a quill tucked behind each ear.
His name is actually “Armand” but for some reason, with this crew, Almond stuck.
He hands each of them a scene to memorize.
The players must roll a CHA 15 check or higher to be cast in the play
If they roll lower, Armand offers them positions as techies to run during the play.
Everyone is given a script
Players have their parts highlighted
Techies have notes in the margins
They have two hours until showtime. A clock is started. The players now have four turns until they need to be in position on stage.
The players are finally given a map, so they can see the grounds
Each “action” will constitute a turn.
Players can choose to cause mischief, investigate the troupe, or memorize their lines. If they spend a turn memorizing their lines, they can roll with advantage to meet the save they’ll make on stage.
Map Deets
Stage
The stage area is somewhat shifty, given it seems to have been built very quickly by people who didn’t know what they were doing, and then shored up by people who did know what they were doing but were short on materials. On it, stage hands in dark cloaks are making some last-minute touches to the backdrop, a cityscape that is much brighter and decidedly more festive than Emrys.
In this area, there is a high level of surveillance from people actively working on the stage and from ushers in the pit and the crowd, cleaning up before the show.
A DC 15 Perception check will reveal that the curtain supports seem to be sagging, any day from crashing down from above.
Audience
There are only a few people in the audience, mostly vendors who are enjoying a smoke break before getting back to work and before the show.
This area is lightly surveilled, as most of the attention is on the stage itself and the vendors are focused mostly on gossiping or their pipeweed.
If the players choose to participate, they can learn that one of the chefs had a bad batch of beer that they put behind the cart to get rid of.
They also learn that Yord comes to watch the plays all the time. He’s often in the crowd on opening night, in disguise.
Wardrobe
Huge tables are spread out inside this large tent, and they are covered in costumes being altered at the last minute. Pins and needles are stuck in cushions and covered with tape everywhere. Three elves looking harried and covered in tapes are working quickly, letting out drape here and fixing a tear there.
This area has some surveillance. The three elves that work here are using every inch of the space and moving quickly to and fro, while some actors wander in and get dressed. (If one of the players had been cast, they are inside, getting adjustments made.)
Dress Tent
In the western dress tent, women are crammed in at tables around a single mirror, hurriedly dusting wigs and faces, hiding the lace and working on powdering every inch of exposed skin. Costumes from from wardrobe are already on the floor, being shimmied into and out of while the two female leads going on in tonight’s show are gossiping.
This area is highly surveilled. People are coming in and out all the time, and the two leads are keeping an eye on everything before the big show.
If the players decide to listen in, the lead and one of her assistants are talking about the rumors that Yord and Brad are having a lover’s quarrel.
They also find a “costume” item
Dress Tent
In the eastern dress tent, men are crammed in at tables around mirrors, slicking back hair or adjusting their wigs, powdering their faces and adjusting costumes, complaining about fit and length. One man has his pants completely off and is showing a colleague a pin someone forgot in a seam.
This area is highly surveilled. People are coming in and out and the men are watching who is going where.
They also find “entertainer’s pack”
Branzan’s Office
A wagon with a red roof and faded guilded scrollwork sits at the edge of the backstage area, covered in pennants, like it’s wanting to be hidden. The door, if tried, is locked.
This is a low-surveillance area. Not many people are paying attention to an area that is essentially unused at this time.
Roll a DC 15 Dexterity check to unlock the wagon.
Inside, the wagon is a mess. Books are on top of books are on top of desks, papers are stuffed into shelves, a bed is hastily packed into one corner.
With a DC 10 Investigation check, the crew finds papers that allude to notes Branzan has taken of the last few plays Yord has put on.
There are underlined bits and plot points, with notes to the side, with “MY IDEA!” in capital letters written beside one of them.
Set Design
A large table with many shelves and racks of different boards and tools are crammed into the room. Clearly, this would be a working hazard for anybody.
This is a low-surveillance area. Not many people are paying attention to an area that’s kind-of outlived its usefulness for now.
While this doesn’t seem to contain any current props, it does contain quite a few tools, including:
