Re: Sword and sorcery
I'm not familiar with the Valdorian source material; however this should work just about any where:
Just arrived in the city. Two very long months escorting the caravan up from (somewhere two months away by ox drawn wagon or whatever). Found a good, clean bed-n-breakfast to stay at until you decide what to do next and decided to reward yourself with a night on the town. After a long night of drunken revelry, you awaken in the local drunk tank. The last thing you remember is getting cold-cocked from behind just as you won the arm wrestling contest with that dwarf. (The mage’s last memory is of the dwarf beside him sucker punching him just after he snapped his fingers for the barmaid’s attention. Watching an arm wrestling contest is thirsty work.)
Tossed together by chance, penny-less, concussed, cut, stinking of day old ale and covered with someone’s dried blood, each PC awakens with a similar story. They may commiserate until called to court. A group of clean, well dressed, upstanding dwarves accuse the mage, fighter and other PCs of "fixing" the match. Not guilty but still found guilty of various petty crimes, public drunkenness, resisting arrest, various and sundry property damages; they are unable to pay the court costs (purses gone), much less the fines, resulting in additional charges of vagrancy, etc. Given the choice of accepting service with a dapper looking gentleman, acting on behalf of unidentified person(s), or serving off the charges on the harbor defense galley, as a rower…..
Which leads to gladiator matches, beast hunts, treasure hunts, grudge/revenge actions or the ever popular sport of yachting.
Just a quick thought.