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Interesting Encounter: The Grande Hotel

Interesting encounters are short descriptions of encounters that GMs can use to build on.  They combine unique aspects of different types of foes, terrain, skill checks, weather, combat, etc in order to provide more unique challenges than hit monster; repeat.

The Grande Hotel is a social encounter. I originally wrote this encounter as a balancing bit of luck for a min-maxed overly-charismatic bard. It certainly highlights the dangers of being too reliant on only a single aspect in a single character. It is also a lesson in not splitting the party.

The Grande Hotel is the first big chance for the new big damn heroes to flaunt their wealth and get some rest. From the moment the party walks into the hotel, they get a flood of elegance. A doorman opens the door for them and offers to take their *ahem* luggage. If they agree, a bellboy will appear with a cart and take any items, weapons, etc and load them on.

At the front desk, a very polite man will offer to get them a room or suite, separate or together. After they pay for their room, he will offer to have one of the other servants measure the party and send up evening wear before dinner, since the party probably doesn't have any such thing with them.

The rooms will be beyond anything most of the party has imagined. Dealing with the staff is always pleasant. The other guests may not be so welcoming. Nobles that stay in the hotel will be particularly snobby. Give the players a good hook into the next stage of their adventure that requires them to talk to them and gather information.

The charismatic leader of the party will catch the eye of one of the two beautiful sisters that owns the Grande Hotel. Venecia is a very beautiful woman, and she will take an instant liking to this charismatic party member, who I'll call Jim, although Jim need not be a man. Jim will say all the right thing in his normal charismatic way, and in doing so, will get invited to dinner with the owners. Everything about Venecia will seem pleasant and wonderful, even perhaps supernaturally so.

If there is a cleric, priest, or paladin in the party besides Jim, they might a bit of a bad feeling about Venecia. It won't be anything specific unless they dig in further.  Any cautions from them will be hand-waved off by Venecia in a very convincing way. After all, Venecia and her sister are respected business people in this city.

Should someone try to join Jim and the sisters for dinner, Venecia will indicate her desire to spend some alone time with Jim. Venecia might even offer a rain check for another night for the one wanting to join their dinner.

The rest of the party will be dining at the same time in the grand dining hall. The servants will have provided elegant evening wear and insist that they leave their weapons in their rooms.  A PC may be able to hide a small weapon like a couple of daggers under their jacket or a light crossbow under a puffy dress. They will be seated among other guests and enjoy a variety of small talk.  Along with the snobbery before, there may be calls for stories. This is a great time for the party to tell about some of their adventures. The nobles, of course, will be impressed by everything excepting descriptions of obvious gore.

Jim will be escorted onto the roof of the Grande Hotel where there is a beautiful garden open to the sky.  The sun will have just set and stars will be appearing. There will be a low table there, surrounded by pillows, and loaded with fruit and other feast-worthy foods. The servants will get everything in order for Jim. Venecia will be there waiting. Her sister, Varista, will arrive late in a beautiful dress with a veil. Venecia will say all the right things. Her sister will say very little, coughing perhaps a bit, and mentioning that she has a cold.

Once dinner is underway, the servants will ask if there is anything else. Venecia will send the servants away, saying that they no longer wish to be disturbed. If Jim studies the servant's face, he will notice an odd look. Venecia's face will tell of ravenous desires.

After the servants leave and dinner is finished, the sisters will snuggle in close to Jim. The affection will quickly turn as Varista pulls away her veil, revealing a gaunt frightening face. The illusions will quickly drop as the sisters are revealed as succubi. Jim is obviously to be their dinner.

They situation will seem quite dire at first. Jim, because he is more of a talker than a fighter, may not have the physical skills to fight off the sisters. Even a skilled fighter will be hard pressed to fight off two of such fiends. He will be struggling to ultimately try to get away to signal the others.

The others will be down a floor and down a hall, so it isn't an easy location to hear anything from the roof. The one saving event is that someone at dinner with the party might mention several hints at other guests disappearing and some strange tidbits about the sisters. That might be enough to have one of the party members grow alarmed.

Whether Jim is able to contact the party or the party decides to check on Jim, it ultimately turns into a fight between the sisters and the party. The sisters will use their wiles and persuasion to attempt to talk the party into letting them be. They obviously have a tremendous amount of money to offer. This chance meeting with Jim was a desperate last measure to save Varista's life, after all. The party may or may not be convinced.

No matter what happens, this evening will likely be the party's last night of staying in the Grand Hotel.  In addition, should they kill the sisters, they will be hard pressed to make a convincing tale for the local authorities that the sisters were succubi. The sisters may return to humanoid form after killed, likely resulting in the party being wanted for murder. This makes for another nice plot hook.

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