XMAS 2017 December 25, 2017

Quick Quests are miniature modules to inspire DMs who need an idea on the fly. Each Quick Quest provides the rough framework for a story, but any details are the duty of the Drunken Master.

Quick Quest Xmas Special 2017: Krampusnacht POST-APOCALYPTIC PRISON BREAK

The War on Xmas has been waged, and lost. Santa is gone, and the Krampus reigns supreme. The nice have been conquered by the naughty. This Christmas--on the anniversary of the end of the world--a small group plans to lead an escape from one of the Krampus Kamps.

Description: It’s night. A night that was once called “Christmas Eve.” But more importantly, it’s the beginning of a revolution. A small group has been conspiring for years to liberate Krampus Kamp 6 from the inside. As the largest Kamp on the American East Coast, it’s heavily guarded by “naughty” denizens of Earth who remained loyal to the Krampus. It’s also a location for the Krampus to bring evil visitors from beyond our dimension to show what he’s done with our world to tip the moral balance of our universe. Players will conspire to develop an escape plan, aided perhaps by a non-player character (NPC) to help guide the players through hellscape of Krampus Kamp 6. But be careful! Too much chaos might alert the Krampus to your plan, and he’ll do much worse than toss you in a sack and throw you into the river...

Suggestions: • The DM should create a map of the Kamp to give players a point of reference for their escape. • The DM should develop a few NPCs before the game that represent other freed prisoners who may be able to aid the player characters in their escape...or betray them when a better offer comes along. • Puzzles and mini-games may be used to represent the challenges of a jailbreak, ie, cracking a lock with a code, or mastering the rotation of guards at certain parts of the facility. • This kind of prison from another realm is loaded with strange and dangerous devices and weapons. Even though the players’ characters wouldn’t typically be the kind of people to take up arms, desperate times call for desperate measures. Get creative coming up with equipment and weapons forged in a realm of pure naughtiness. • Potential enemies: particularly mean teenagers; other- dimensional evil; ill-behaved children; hypocritical holy men; young, rebellious Elves; demons; ghosts; ghouls; and sentient fruitcake.

Player guidelines: In this game, players are either humans or elves. Players may work with the DM to develop a character outside of those two races, but it should work with the DM’s story. Humans: Before the Krampusnacht, you were a good person. Maybe you worked with the sick or infirm, or donated a great deal of money to charity, or helped to shape the next generation of good people. Human characters are selfless, and lived lives of charity and humility. Elves: The younger generation of Elves have defected to the Krampus, choosing to align themselves with who they see as the “superior slavemaster.” The elder Elves, however, have maintained their loyalty to the ideals of goodness and Santa. These Elves are more experienced than their treacherous kin, some having spent centuries creating toys in the Workshop.

Endgame: He knows when you are scheming, He knows when you escape… The Krampus has been aware of your plans the entire time. How did you think it would be this easy? Assuming the players have decided to shut down the Kamp at the central terminal, attempting to release the bulk of the prisoners at once, he will confront them there. Using wits, wisdom, brute force, Elven magicks, and whatever else they have with them, the band of escapees must fight back the Krampus and liberate the Kamp before all hope is lost, and the forces of Naughty truly reign supreme.