Tantan’s Dying Wish is a murder mystery adventure that takes place in and around Bekebel Citadel on Oro-oro-ponoro-poron. The crime is committed on the night of Tantan the Inventor’s wedding to Babanak the Great while the leaders of all nearby clans are present, laying political challenges over an already complicated plot.

This adventure includes very few lines of written dialogue and has imprecise plot points because it is designed to be played with a high degree of player agency. In other words, the player characters are meant to be the main drivers of the story and should be encouraged to initiate their own social interactions with the non-player characters.

Overview

For many years, Tantan the Inventor and Babanak the Great have had a close relationship. They would have married long ago were it not for the dire warnings given by Babanak’s seers, who foresaw death and betrayal were the two to marry.

But now Tantan suffers from a wasting disease. Her sickness is weakening her body and the clan’s doctors are powerless to heal her. In her final days, she made a dying wish to Babanak that he marry her. Babanak agreed, ignoring his seers’ grim foretellings, and together they began planning the wedding. The leaders of both the Dagana and Lukurru clans are invited, despite the tensions between the three clans.

The plot

Nestled between pillars of rock near the shores of Oro-oro-ponoro-poron, a scheme has been brewing in the mind of Takala the Spellmaster. Takala is a powerful and respected member of the Dagana clan and an advisor to their leader Semeret the Motherly. Knowing that Dagana the Azure Death is nearing the end of her life, many Dagana clan members have begun plotting to replace her with their favored successor. Takala and others wish for the strength and protection of Kormak the Havoc Raiser and want him to be their clan’s next overlord. Kormak is fierce and ruthless, much like Dagana once was, and his followers believe he would lead them to greatness. However, Kormak does not yet hold respect from the majority of the clan - in particular, Semeret the Motherly despises Kormak and would like nothing better than to see him perish during one of his frequent fights.

In order to foster reverence for Kormak among the clan, Takala has devised a plan with the aid of an assassin named Hitch. Their plan is to take advantage of the existing enmity between the Bekebel and the Lukurru clans and to spark a war between them. By joining forces with the Bekebel clan, Kormak the Havoc Raiser could lead the Dagana clan to a great victory over the Lukurru. Kormak prefers to fight the Lukurru because he knows that Tuvdak the Magnificent, overlord and protector of the Bekebel clan, is one of the few dragons on Oro-oro-ponoro-poron that could defeat him in single combat. Defeating the Lukurru would also allow the Dagana clan to occupy their territories, expanding into the lush jungles.

For years, Takala has been waiting for an opportunity to set her scheme in motion, and now she sees the perfect opportunity to do so at Tantan and Babanak’s wedding. With the Lukurru present in Bekebel Citadel, the Bekebel will already be wary and suspicious of their sworn enemies. So, both to weaken the Bekebel clan and to inspire vengeance against the Lukurru, Takala hired the killer Hitch to assassinate both Tantan and Babanak. Even if Hitch fails, she expects the attack to spark a fierce retribution from the Bekebel.

The players

Takala the Spellmaster

Takala the Spellmaster of the Dagana clan is a cold and calculating individual, and she sees the wedding ceremony as nothing more than a vehicle to carry out her scheme. She is prepared to feign sympathy when Hitch succeeds and also to deflect suspicion towards the Lukurru by intentionally inflaming their existing conflicts with the Bekebel.

Janjan the Uncowed

Janjan the Uncowed, sister of Tantan the Inventor and a proud member of the Bekebel clan, is well-known among the Lukurru as a force to be reckoned with. Together with Pounce, her (mostly) tame chupacabra, Janjan never backs down and carries every grudge to the bitter end. She is compassionate and generous towards her friends, but she has a tendency to let Pounce do the talking when she feels threatened.

Semeret the Motherly

Semeret the Motherly is the kindly leader of the Dagana clan. She knows nothing of Takala’s plot and intends to use her influence only to calm the enmity between Bekebel and Lukurru.

Irvini the Seer

Irvini the Seer, leader of the Lukurru, is a proud and powerful diviner. Together with Mosha the All-knowing, she has spent weeks in advance of the wedding peering into Bekebel Citadel with her magic in an attempt to discover if it is a trap. She ignored the Dagana, however, and is completely unaware of Takala’s scheme. As such, Irvini is attending the wedding with a misplaced confidence.

Perlen the Destined

Perlen the Destined, the despised prince of the Lukurru, is attending the wedding only out of a spiteful desire to cause as much trouble as possible. Disallowed from inviting his gang of ruffians, Perlen hopes only to be a major inconvenience to the Bekebel and to push the limits of the truce between the three clans.

Chapter 1 - Arrivals

The first guests to arrive, a full week before the wedding ceremony, are Semeret the Motherly and her retinue. Bekebel maintains only a neutral relationship with the Dagana clan, and the two clans do not often interact - however, Tuvdak the Magnificent and Dagana the Azure Death are two of the oldest dragons on the island, a similarity which brings the two clans closer together.

Arriving a few days later are the representatives of the Lukurru clan. Currently led by Irvini the Seer, the Lukurru have been the sworn enemies of the Bekebel for over two centuries. The tensions between the members of the clans are transparent, and Babanak and Irvini exchange hateful glares.

The clan leaders are invited to stay in Bekebel Citadel’s royal suites, and their retinues are offered rooms nearby. This rankles with Irvini, but she does not raise a complaint.