Traveler’s Adventures – Seven Gates

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Scenario by Muqarnas Games

SIX NIGHTS. SIX GATES. EACH MORNING, A DIFFERENT DOOR IS FOUND BOLTED FROM WITHIN, AND THE PERSON BEHIND IT IS DEAD. THE CHARACTERS ARE SENT TO STOP THE PATTERN. BEFORE THE SEVENTH NIGHT ARRIVES, THEY DISCOVER THERE IS A THIRTY-YEAR-OLD DEBT. IT HAS BEEN FEEDING THE DISTRICT FROM THE BEGINNING. IT IS RESPECTABLE. IT IS CONNECTED. IT IS NOT FINISHED.

For a week, the walled district of Marrow Hill has been locked in a silent, terrifying countdown. Six heads of household have died on six consecutive nights, each found inside a private room locked from the inside, with no sign of forced entry and no mark of violence that the local physician can explain. Hired as outside investigators by a frustrated city official in the early evening, your party is tasked with navigating the closed ranks of a wealthy elite to finally uncover the cause before a seventh name is added to the list.

But as the final night approaches, a hidden pattern emerges from the ashes of the district’s history. The deaths are not an accidental byproduct of a random curse or an indiscriminate monster. They are the calculated, rhythmic consequence of a fire set thirty years ago by the seven founding heads of household to conceal a massive fraud scheme. They built thirty years of respectability and prosperity on a murder they called an accident, and now what remains of the victim, an old exchange keeper named Holt, has returned to settle the account. With the final living architect of the fire waiting behind the seventh gate, the characters have less than one night to unravel the conspiracy before the ledger is closed for good.

Seven Gates is a self-contained, atmosphere-driven locked-room mystery and ethical diplomacy adventure for 3 to 5 players at levels 1 to 3, lasting 3 to 4 hours. It challenges players to look beyond conventional dungeon heroism to confront the cold, enduring weight of institutional silence and historical guilt.

Adventure Features:

• Perfect for Low-Level Intrigue: Calibrated for introductory-tier parties (levels 1 to 3), offering a tightly paced, 3 to 4-hour multi-layered investigation and psychological challenge with rich narrative texture.
• A Calculated Incorporeal Adversary: Step away from standard vengeful ghosts or chaotic monsters. Confront Holt, a detached, enacted consequence that moves through locked doors with absolute precision, targeting only those holding the debt.
• Deep Multi-Threaded Clues: Piece together a historical puzzle across six prior crime scenes. Track a long-out-of-circulation grain-exchange token through terrified households, decipher thin city registries to uncover the original arson, and secure actionable testimony from a forgotten daughter.
• Nuanced Faction Dynamics: Interact with wealthy families who carry the quiet anxiety of a three-decade-old lie, and navigate their defensive silence. Weaponize the truth to uncover how Marrow Hill’s original land and fortune were actually acquired.
• High-Stakes Ethical Mechanics: Manage the final confrontation through structured choice and social commitment. Leverage a surprise, unrepentant written confession from the final matriarch, and decide whether to preserve a guilty life or let a legitimate grievance finish its work.
• SRD 5.1 Compatible: Fully compatible with the 5th Edition Systems Reference Document, designed to drop seamlessly into any prosperous urban district, independent city-state, or dark political fantasy setting.

“I am writing this because I believe, after thirty years, that I am finally going to be asked to account for something I have spent my whole life since arranging not to be asked about. … I am only certain that I owe the truth, finally, to Holt’s family and to the city, regardless of what happens to me tonight.”

Traveler’s Adventures – Seven Gates is available through DriveThruRPG in PDF.

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