The Case of the Carnelian Dragon
Set Up:
Our heroes* are near a jeweler's shop late at night when a robbery goes down. Being heroes (besides which, there's nobody else around), they intervene, stop the robbery, and capture the felons. But, before the police can arrive the burglars die mysteriously. Even odder, the only thing they stole was a few containers of jewelers rouge (used as an abrasive in jewelry work). Tens of thousands of dollars in jewelry is untouched. If that don't intrigue your players, they're slugs.
:)
*Suggested Mix:
Private detective, wandering monk from an obscure Buddhist sect, crusading reporter, and a crusading cleric.
OK...but what the hell is going on? I'm intrigued.
GMS
What would you expect to be going on? (Translation: I haven't the foggiest.) Yes, it involves a dragon carved out of carnelian, and it involves the jeweler's rouge. How they go together, and why is unsettled at the moment. Any ideas?
The jeweler's rouge could be required for the next step. Say, the careful polishing of a gemstone so it can be used to obtain the next item on the list. But, it's a mystical operation that require the use of a rare (and no longer manufactured) jeweler's rouge that incorporated some no longer available ingredients. The jeweler was one of only two people who owned the last samples of this rouge. His supply is now locked up in the police evidence room. The other is owned by an amateur jeweler. So the villain has a choice, he can try stealing from the police (possible but not easy), or he can go after the second source. An opportunity for some investigation by the characters.
Obviously, at this point the players should only be aware of the surface conspiracy. Who's behind these clowns really shouldn't become apparent until part three or four.
Think I've read Necropolis (Gygax adventure) once too often.:)