The PCs attempt to gather some information from patrons in a local tavern. This scenario is handy if the information the players need is useful but not necessary to advance the story. If the information is critical to continue the adventure, you'll need a fallback plan to fail-forward.

All entities gain +1 to Rebuttal, Damage, and Defense entries on each Reaction played after the first within a round. This effect is cumulative.

Common Tables  -  Standing Area  -  Bar  -  Privies

Common Tables: Charisma ties are in favor of the blocker.
Standing Area: All Actions gain Special: You may draw a card (unless they already have such an entry).
Bar: No effect.
Privies: Occupying entities cannot be affected by any plays from entities outside the Privies, regardless of range (but may use range on entities outside them). Entities with cards may spend their Action Phase to draw a card.

• Wisecracker
• Simpleton x2

• Traveling Musician
• Wisecracker

• Raconteur
• Traveling Musician
• Simpleton

• Raconteur
• Traveling Musician
• Wisecracker
• Simpleton

• Raconteur
• Traveling Musician
• Wisecracker x2
• Simpleton

• The PCs may begin in the Standing Area or Bar.
• The Traveling Musician begins in the Standing Area.
• Any Wisecrackers begin in the Common Tables.
• Any Raconteur begins in the Bar.
• Simpletons begin in Bar and Standing Area at 2 players, Common Tables at 4 players, Privies otherwise.

The Opponents will remain spread out (having nothing really to do with each other and no shared interest in dealing with the PCs). If the PCs try to group up on a single Opponent, the building Reaction bonuses should quickly discourage such behavior. If multiple Opponents do wind up in the same position, they will avoid targeting the same PC within a round, attempting to Move out if need be; however, they won't skip their Action Phase entirely in this case unless they're certain to fail.

However the PCs win, they get the information they seek. An intimidation-styled approach might earn a reputation for strength, a befriending tactic might result in gaining new allies or flings, and magical illusions may compel additional useful rumors beyond what the PCs were after. These results should be stronger if the PCs manage to get the Debate Counter to the maximum value.

The PCs are unable to get the information they need. If the information was merely useful, that's an adequate resolution. If it's critical to continue the story, you'll need to cause something to happen. Perhaps the PCs manage to anger some patrons and start a bar fight (which you could run as a combat if some patrons are heavily armed and capable; otherwise you could have the PCs simply win, but maybe one or two get an Injury from a surprise attack via smashed bottles). Another option is that the PCs realize they'll have to pay for the information; this should probably cost only a Valuable or two rather than a full Wealth. Or, maybe someone offers to give the information, but only if the PCs help them first, leading to a side quest with an additional scenario or two involved.

This scenario is Stat Track-focused, trying to stall the PCs to keep them from raising the Counter before the end of the scenario. If you want a bit more of a standard style, you can swap in Opponents like the Bully and the Contrarian.

If the PCs are already known here (and have a positive reputation), you could improve the starting Debate Counter position and/or boost the Round Limit as a reward. However, that could make the scenario so easy it's almost impossible to fail, in which case a better option might be to simply give the PCs the information, rewarding them for prior successes. If the PCs have a bad reputation or the patrons are especially unfriendly, you might cut the Round Limit by 1 or 2, making it particularly difficult (but not impossible) for the players to get the information they want.

The Opponents represent the patrons with the potential for useful information, or at least those who will engage with the PCs; it's assumed that other patrons exist in the background. If you prefer to have all patrons represented but not be stuck with a largely empty tavern, swap the Traveling Musician for four mooks of your choice (Contrarians are fine, or Spirited Youths representing chatty young adults just barely of drinking age). You could similarly swap the Raconteur for a pair of level 2 mooks (such as Gossips) to add to the crowd.

More level 1 interaction scenarios