Get Through the Closed Mountain Pass
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The Pass RoadThe Mule CampThe High Shelf
Roleplay EncounterDND5E 2024Party L2 · 4 PCs
Get Through the Closed Mountain Pass
Read Aloud
A woman in a patched red coat steps from the mule camp and raises one hand. Behind her, four pack mules block the road, their crates marked with the seal of a nearby mining town. “Stop there,” she says. “The pass is closed until I know whether you are here to rob us, report us, or make the same mistake we did.”
The Scene
NEUTRALBargain for passageBase DC 12Stakes The party needs the pass; the mule train carries food that will keep several miners' families alive, but exposing it may bring the town guard down on everyone.
15 to 25 minutes
NPC Goal
Get the food and her surviving drivers past the next patrol, then reach her trapped brother before nightfall.
Leverage
The party can expose the mine overseer's theft, help rescue the trapped brother, or protect the mule train from the patrol.
Player Approaches
- Ask about the mining-town seal.
- Offer to rescue the trapped brother.
- Inspect the crates without threatening the camp.
- Promise to keep the food theft quiet.
- Point out that the coming patrol will endanger the mule drivers too.
NPC Gambits
- Trade a useful favor for passage.
- Call out the mine overseer's corruption.
- Offer a truthful account of the party's mission.
- Use the warning bell or mule line as visible proof of shared danger.
- Withdraw calmly, then return with a better offer.
NPC Reactions
- A respectful question earns a direct answer.
- A threat makes her step behind the mule line and call for weapons.
- Mentioning the trapped brother makes her voice crack, then lowers the next demand.
- Offering to help the drivers turns suspicion into guarded trust.
- Touching a crate without permission starts one failure.
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