The Scar City – The Drowned Catalogue
Noir Investigation for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition by Se7en Sagas
A weird fantasy noir investigation for Fifth Edition
In Vezar, the truth isn’t always hidden. Sometimes it has simply been declared nonexistent.
It is October 1940 CR. The world stands at the edge of war, and Vezar, a supposedly neutral coastal capital, has become a refuge for exiles, spies, smugglers and people with nowhere else to go.
Trams rattle through rain-soaked streets. Diplomats exchange secrets in crowded cafés. The dead return to work with their paperwork in order. Ministries decide who belongs, which streets exist and which histories deserve to survive.
And beneath the City, something remembers what the authorities have erased.
Welcome to Scar City, a setting of weird fantasy noir, political intrigue, supernatural mysteries and institutional horror, powered by the familiar rules of Fifth Edition.
THE DROWNED CATALOGUE
One death. One investigation. One truth the City cannot safely file.
Antonino Sylua, an antiquarian bookseller, has driven his car into the Silver Flow.
The authorities call it an accidental drowning.
His widow isn’t convinced.
What begins as a straightforward investigation leads through falsified records, missing books, frightened witnesses and a clandestine network dedicated to preserving histories the City has forbidden.
The deeper the investigators dig, the more they discover that the past is not merely dangerous to remember.
It can change reality.
And the question may no longer be who killed Antonino Sylua, but whether the truth he died protecting should ever be released.
FIFTH EDITION, THROUGH A NOIR LENS
Scar City uses the familiar Fifth Edition framework, compatible with SRD 5.2.1, but shifts the emphasis from heroic conquest to investigation, vulnerability, moral compromise and consequences.
The quickstart introduces original mechanics and procedures that make the City an active participant in every investigation:
HEAT: The more attention you attract, the more the institutions respond. Checkpoints appear, witnesses grow frightened, records are flagged and official scrutiny becomes dangerous.
TRUST: Information isn’t the only thing you need. People must decide how much they are willing to risk to help you, and every alliance comes with obligations.
IDENTITY SLIP: Forbidden knowledge can erode your place in reality. Your documents begin to disagree with you. Familiar streets become uncertain. Eventually, the City may no longer recognise that you exist.
WEIRD SPACE: Geography is not always governed by distance. Forgotten street names open impossible routes, doors obey categories rather than architecture, and the City sometimes remembers buildings that were erased centuries ago.
And at the heart of the investigation is a guiding principle:
A failed investigative roll should create a cost, not prevent the story from moving forward.
Discover the evidence, but attract unwanted attention. Find the witness, but arrive too late to protect them. Learn the truth, but become someone the City no longer recognises.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
The Drowned Catalogue is a complete introductory investigation designed for approximately 4 to 5 hours of play, featuring:
• A 54-page illustrated adventure booklet.
• Six pregenerated level 3 investigators, ready to enter Vezar’s dangerous streets.
• Eight printable investigative handouts, plus quick-reference materials for players and Game Masters.
• An open investigation with multiple leads, active factions and no predetermined sequence of scenes.
• Original Scar City mechanics for Heat, Trust, Identity Slip and Weird Space.
• A morally complicated conclusion shaped by the players’ decisions, rather than a single predetermined solution.
The adventure is designed for six level 3 characters. You will need the Fifth Edition rules or SRD 5.2.1 to play.
SOME TRUTHS SHOULD STAY BURIED.
In Scar City, monsters aren’t always the greatest danger.
Sometimes it’s a clerk who follows orders. A priest who refuses to look away. A name that no longer appears in the register. A book that remembers a street the City insists never existed.
And sometimes solving a murder is the easy part.
The difficult part is deciding what to do with the truth.
Welcome to Vezar. Keep your papers in order.
The Scar City – The Drowned Catalogue is available through DriveThruRPG in PDF.
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