Ncvercmber has levied heavy taxes against wealthy
merchants and the aristocracy. Acquisitions I ncor-
poratcd maintains signifintnt financial holdings i n
<'Verwinter. Given the current political climate in lhC'city. those holdings arr going to be overtaxed if they
arc d iscovered.
On Omin's ord<'rs. Oppal D<'Srart. a doppelganger
in the employ of 1\C'quisition'> Incorporated. has been
working lo move Acq Inc treasure out of l\everwinter.
By consolidating c<lches of treasure and using th em to
purchase rare diamonds. she's been able to conver t a
great deal of wealth into portable form. ready for secure
retrieval. Unfortunately for her and unknown to Om in
Oran Oppal was recently arn·sted for murder in a case'
of m istak en idcntily. She's currently b eing held in the
dungl'ons bt'tieath the ruins of Castle Never. awaiting
execution.T111:. STABLE QUIVER
When the chararters arrive i11 Nevcrwintcr, they find
thcmsPlvcs in a city divickd quite literally. Part of th<'
m<'tropolis is magnificent. with breathtaking arrhitec
turc. marvelous spires. and opulent decorations. And
amid that beauty is a terrihl<' scar caused by the er up-
tion of Vloum I lotenow yt·ars before. Citizens are still
rebuilding from that disaster. largely thank'> to the extra
taxes Lord Nevercmber levies against the wealthy. The
city'..., poorer residen ts benefit from the rebuilding work.
and live i n hope that the artisans and builders in the
City of Skilled I lands can turn thC'ir home into thejew<'I
of th<' 'orth once again.
The Stable Quiver is a nonckscript. well-built cavern
in the Blacklakc District. an area that covers the north·
west part of the city. The tavern boasts <i mixed cl ientdt•
of le<>ser nobles. artisans. micldle-dass m<'rchants. and
skilled laborers. It's a perfect meeting place' for citizen...,
engaged in activit ies they wish to keeμ out of the public
eye. The low-lift· element normally eschews the place.
except in cases where they meet with th<' tmTrn·s regu-
lar patrons-who arc no less criminal in many cases.
locating Oppal. When the characters <'nt<·r the tav-
ern. all the tables an· occupied. but sewral empty stools
stand ac the bar. The barkc<'p is Squid (N male half-elf
commoner). so-eallt'd by the locals because of a squid-
shaped birthmark on his face.
I f the ch aracters ask Squid :ibout O ppal by name.
or about any shapechangcrs working in the· area. the
half-elf initially denies knowing anything about such a
per!>on. A character who succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom
(Insight) check notices that the barkeep i8 clearly con-
ceali11g something. Ir th<~ dwraclcrs push t he issue. a
succc:;,sful DC 10 Charisma (Deception or Persu;1sion)
chc<'k causes Squid to dish up information. Any Cha-
risma ( Intimidation) check inspires him to first direct
the characters toward some random cha meter who he
sw<·nrs is Oppal. just to light<'n the mood. I le also spills
if the characters offer him a bribe of 5 gp or more.
J\s ITI\' documanccr. \• I a nut... is so l'ond of ~;:l\·i.. n er: :='
I gnor. e I lead Olf1ce's missi,·cs at. your O own. pen I. (~he , -csa\'s. 1·1 ' "Thi-is ·1 task trom min. so we i
11 more 1 <c. "' • '.. , i11t")
r~ing to drop i.:,·crything-and do it I ()1)1\'i ....g _Rosie Bet: st 1 nger
"Afraid Oppal got herself nicked. Funny bit was, with all
the laws she's broke. she gets picked up for somethin'
she didn't do. Murder no less! But I'll tell you true. Oppal
ain't the murderin' type.
"See, Oppal was pretending to be a local ore thug, get-
tin' some information for a client. But in the meantime,
that ore kills somebody on that very same night Oppal's
pretendin' to be him. The guards know the ore, then they
find Oppal lookin' like him. arrest her. and throw her in
the holes under Castle Never. Even though they know
she's a changer, they still blame her. Easier work for
them. That 's the lot of a usual suspect in Neverwinter."If the character'> ran·t convince Squid to talk to them.
th<'y ran chat with others in the tavern. With the right
motivation. ancJlhcr N PC can point the group in the
right direction.
Interested Bystander. One of the patrons at the Sta
bk Qui\'er when the characters arrive to inquire about
Oppal is Moguhl Vloot. This petite humHn wears a
nicely tailored suit and has slicked-back gray hair, even
though she appears no older than thirty. Being a were-
rat kt'cps one looking young.
:\1oguhl works for a local thieVt's· guild and keeps
tabs on illicit goods going into and out of the city. Her
guild has brokered some of the treasun· Oppal has been
st'lling. and l\loguhl's bosse!> want to find out where
tlw doppclgangcr has been hiding the· rash she's been
stockpil in g. With Oppal set for execution. they know
they ncc·d to work fast. but arc st i l l weighing whether
trying to get to her in the dungeons of (';1...,tlc \!ever is
worth the risk.
i\foguhl noticcs the characters asking about Oppal.
She tries to hide her interest. but any character who
succ<'eds on a DC 14 Wisdom (Insight) chf'ck notes her
"urrcptitiously remaining close and listt•ning in when
the group acquires the information they need. \loguhl
leave~ the t:ivcrn before the characters can confronl her.
She slips clown an al ley and turns imo a ~iant rat i f any-
one attempts to follow her.
i\loguhl quickly gathers five bandits to assist her in
"qut·stioning" the characters about their knowledge of
or clC'alings wiLh Oppal. A short while after the charac-
ter~ leave tht' tavern. this gang challeng<•s them. setting
l\loguhl up to ask who Oppal is working for and where
she hid her treasure.
Naturally, t he character s arc unable to answer Mo-
guhl's second question. But unless the characters also
d<'n) knowing the doppelgangcr's employer and arc
particularly convincing about their ignorance. Moguhl
and her bandits attack in hopes that a good beating can
convince them to tell w hat they know.
Moguhl uses the wererat 81Ht block and wields a +J
shortsll'ord she calls Piercer. which grants her a +I bo-
nu::. to her attack and damage rolls.
Moguhl flees before the adventurers can kill or eap-
tur(' her. using her Shapec-hangcr trait to escap e or LO