The Commander’s Dinner

Description: A spacious officer’s quarters bathed in warm magical light, dominated by a wooden table set filled by a fine dinner spread.

Tone & Feel: Austere but dignified, the smell of rich food mixed with fine sherry.

Tier: 2

Type: Social

Difficulty: 14

Features

You Can Hear a Fork Drop - Passive

Everyone at the dinner is paying close attention and is on their best behavior. All attempts to conceal action or speak without being heard are made with disadvantage.

What are the traditions of a formal navy dinner? What dishes are being served?

Getting to Know You - Passive

Characters may make a Presence (14) roll to learn about the officers or other guests (difficulty 16 for Commander Kaine). Characters may make an Instinct (14) roll to interpret the words and actions of the officers or other guests (Difficulty 16 for Commander Kaine).

What stories of valor does the commander share to boast? What do the other guests let slip that hints at their motivations?

I Don’t Care For Your Tone - Reaction

Spend Fear when one of the PCs asks a question that is too probing or too disrespectful (About the ship, the crew, the engine, or the commander directly). The commander rebukes the party in front of the entire room, causing every PC to mark Stress. The PCs have disadvantage on any Presence rolls for the rest of the scene.

How far is too far? Does the commander excuse them from dinner or do they get to stay and wallow in their discomfort?

A Magical Puzzle - Passive

Once Mellandra has introduced the astrolabe, a character may make a Finesse or Knowledge (14) roll to investigate the device. On a success, they find way to begin activating the artifact, which briefly creates a magical illusory map before flickering out.

What landmark stands out on the map to orient the PCs as to the territory shown?

The Commander’s Dinner Guide

Keep “You Can Hear a Fork Drop” in mind as the scene plays out - everyone can easily hear whatever the PCs are saying, and communicating without being overheard will be hard. “Getting to Know You” provides the difficulty for most interpersonal actions between the PCs and the NPCs in the scene, including Commander Kaine himself. Lastly, you can use “I Don’t Care For Your Tone” if the PCs step over a line conversationally or if you want to escalate the scene and the PCs are even a bit prying.

Look for a heightened moment to serve as the climax of the scene before introducing the pirate attack - that could be escalating with the Commander’s disapproval, one of the PC’s making progress with the artifact, or a dramatic question that goes unanswered.

If the PCs ruffled the Commander’s feathers, showing their prowess again in the ship’s defense is a great way to get back in his good graces. This sets up the reversal to come to hit even harder.

After giving the players some time to roleplay and discover some clues and morsels of information, the dinner is interrupted by the blast of an alarm as the Windfall comes under attack. Commander Kaine and his officers leap into action immediately. Move to act three.

A spacious officer’s quarters bathed in warm magical light, dominated by a wooden table set filled by a fine dinner spread.