A dependable gargoyle offers services as a sentry. Payment is always an unusual spoon for their collection, which they love showing to others.
Noncombat Encounters in the Undercity for Dungeons and Dragons 5e
Tables for Noncombat Encounters for Black Marketeers and Espionage & Intrigue
City noncombat - city streets | rich & poor | docks | vendors & guards | taverns & parks | back streets | fences & intrigue | shady | sewers | ruins | all noncombat
[art by Henrik Karppinen]
Black Marketeers and Intrigue
In backrooms and shady taverns fences ply their trade. They buy and sell in illegal or smuggled goods. Some offer services not found easily elsewhere. Buyer beware!
They go hand in hand with espionage and intrigue. Activity or subterfuge kept quiet or hidden from the eyes of others. May involve a faction, guild, government, cult or NPC.
From an Undercity Noncombat Encounters on DM's Guild.
Black Marketeers - Noncombat
| 1d20 | Noncombat Encounters - Black Marketeers |
|---|---|
| 1 | A thug keeps to the shadows, offering deals. Inside their coat are an impossible number of pockets containing things far too large for them. |
| 2 | A sly githzerai monk sells religious relics, kept on a saddled giant spider. |
| 3 | A vulture stands on a mat with a sign. "Cursed by witch and still best prices around". A nearby ogre appraises all who approach. |
| 4 | A cloaked wight offers a variety of Tiny zombies which will obey buyers. |
| 5 | A dependable gargoyle offers services as a sentry. Payment is always an unusual spoon for their collection, which they love showing to others. |
| 6 | A few gnomish bandits sell a unique and very illegal "special fungi ale" . |
| 7 | Trotter's Company a pair of mismatched siblings who can get you anything. They have a bright yellow cart pulled by a three-legged pony. |
| 8 | Two flumphs offer trinkets, working from rooftops and paid in secrets. |
| 9 | A vengeful archmage (with no spells or spellbook) offers services as a sage on forbidden, arcane and fiendish knowledge. They have no home. |
| 10 | Bulette, a sahuagin, offers loans on any collateral, with high repayments. |
| 11 | A pair of ruthless veterans claim to be monster hunters who can source bodyparts. Have several bandit assistants and a supply of hearts. |
| 12 | A doppelganger offers a cloning service, acting as a double for the day. |
| 13 | A fast-talking kobold trades in used or armor and weapons, no questions asked. Claims to be a cursed dragon with a network of agents. |
| 14 | A well-dressed wererat offers various maps of the city and can get more. |
| 15 | A jolly alchemist (spy stats) offers good money for blood, also selling it in various forms. Dressed in fine black clothing with red highlights. |
| 16 | A cultist has a rare spider, whose bite gives buyers rapturous dreams. |
| 17 | A colorful wagon is covered in bizarre animated scenes. A floating sign reads "Honest Zagelmoy's Wonders, Curios and Deals. No refunds." |
| 18 | A gnoll with long teeth sells mastiffs performing many impressive tricks. |
| 19 | A dwarf wereboar is new to town and not intending to stay long. From a tent sells a variety of poisons and antidotes, all fake or mislabeled. |
| 20 | A priest sells documents, illegal texts and strange maps from a handcart. |
Espionage and Intrigue - Noncombat
| 1d20 | Noncombat Encounters - Espionage and Intrigue |
|---|---|
| 1 | A sausage seller offers details of a heist being planned on a rich temple. |
| 2 | A tattooed wererat starts talking to a character in a secret language, growing increasingly frustrated when they don't understand. |
| 3 | A trio of thugs dressed in gray kick a bound elf. They flee if challenged. |
| 4 | A character receives a note informing that the sender knows their secrets, and will out then unless they meet tonight at a local ruins. |
| 5 | A young noble in rich clothes requests aid in leaving the city unnoticed. |
| 6 | An urchin asks for help. They robbed a tomb and found too many bodies, including one of a generous tailor who recently went missing. |
| 7 | A spy investigating sales of illusory grain starts to follow the group. |
| 8 | A merchant wants goods recently recovered by an adventuring expedition to be examined, without the knowledge of the adventurers. |
| 9 | A kenku asks the party to draw a merchant out of the city, for good pay. |
| 10 | A mage spymaster has fingers in many taverns, and discovered the groups secrets. A blackmail letter arrives with a location and a payment. |
| 11 | Agents of two rival factions approach the group about the same task. |
| 12 | A young guard heard the location and code to a magical vault. Several factions search for them and the information, and they need help. |
| 13 | A doppelganger seeks refuge from a ruler. They uncovered a dark secret. |
| 14 | A character spots a sharp-nosed gnome all in white, who shakes hands with a sharp-nosed gnome all in black. Did something change hands? |
| 15 | An assassin offers gold in exchange for causing a ruckus in the plaza. |
| 16 | A strange green raven starts trailing a character. It has been watching the steets for weeks. Locals debate whether it is a spy, familiar or ghost. |
| 17 | A noble demands to know who their children are bedding, whoever it is. |
| 18 | A pair of scruffy bandits survey an important building (or a mansion), taking notes of the routines of the guards and all who enter and leave. |
| 19 | A priest spreads rumors of ghosts in a ruin, to keep people away from it. |
| 20 | An enterprising urchin approaches with a nasty rumor about the group. For a price they tell who's been spreading it and where to find them. |
From an Undercity Noncombat Encounters on DM's Guild.
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