A murder mystery at a noble's lavish banquet where nothing is as it seems. One guest will die before dessert — and the killer is still at the table. Spells like Detect Magic and Zone of Truth turn a classic whodunit into something only D&D can deliver.
Story Arcs
An Evening to Die For
The adventurers attend a lavish dinner hosted by the eccentric Lord Vellmont to celebrate the unveiling of a priceless artifact. When the lights flicker and a guest turns up dead, the doors seal with arcane locks and everyone becomes a suspect — including the party.
Session Outlines
These outlines are for planning reference only. Actual sessions are not created by the template.
The Dinner Party
ACT 1 (45 min): Arrival and introductions. Players mingle with 6 NPCs during cocktails and a first course. Each NPC has a secret and a motive. Drop clues through conversation, Insight checks, and ambient details. Let players use social spells freely. END: The lights go out. When they return, one guest is dead and the doors are sealed. ACT 2 (90 min): Investigation phase. Players search rooms, interrogate suspects, and use magic creatively. Key clues: the victim's wine glass (poisoned), a hidden passage behind a portrait, a love letter that reveals an affair, and the artifact itself — which is a powerful mimic that killed the victim when they tried to steal it. Red herrings: the butler's bloody gloves (from cutting himself on broken glass), the mage's suspicious behavior (she's secretly reading everyone's thoughts to cheat at cards). ACT 3 (45 min): Confrontation. When the party identifies the mimic or accuses the wrong person and the mimic reveals itself, combat erupts. The mimic has been posing as the artifact pedestal. Lord Vellmont knew — he's been feeding it guests for years. Final fight against the mimic and Vellmont (warlock).
NPCs
Lord Aldous Vellmont
Human · Eccentric Noble and Secret Warlock
Charming, theatrical, and deeply sinister beneath the surface. Vellmont has been hosting these dinner parties for years, each time "unveiling" a new artifact that is actually his pet mimic. He feeds it guests who get too greedy. Speaks with exaggerated flourish and always has a glass of wine in hand. His pact is with a Great Old One, which explains his unsettling calm when a body is discovered.
Duchess Orla Thane
Human · Politician
Sharp-tongued noblewoman running for a seat on the city council. She has a secret: she's been embezzling from the city treasury. She assumes the murder is connected to her crimes and becomes defensive and paranoid. She is genuinely innocent but acts so guilty that players will suspect her first.
Professor Elsbeth Cray
Gnome · Divination Wizard
Brilliant academic who has been secretly casting Detect Thoughts on other guests all evening to gain social leverage. She knows everyone's surface thoughts but not the real secret. When confronted about her suspicious behavior she becomes flustered and reveals what she's heard, which provides red herrings and real clues in equal measure.
Captain Rhett Vargan
Half-Orc · Retired Mercenary
Gruff, uncomfortable in formal wear, and deeply out of his element at a fancy dinner. He was invited because he once saved Vellmont's life. He carries a concealed dagger (old habit) which makes him look suspicious. He's the most straightforward person in the room and genuinely wants to help solve the murder.
Lyssa Moonveil
Half-Elf · Traveling Bard
The evening's entertainment. Flirtatious and quick-witted with a secret: she's a spy for a rival noble house, here to steal information about Vellmont's finances. She was in the hidden passage behind the portrait when the murder happened and saw something she can't explain — the pedestal moved.
Thaddeus Clink
Halfling · Butler
Vellmont's long-suffering butler who knows the house better than anyone. His gloves are bloody because he cut himself on broken glass while cleaning up a spilled drink. He suspects his master is involved in something dark but is too loyal (and too afraid) to say so. If the players earn his trust, he reveals the hidden passage and the fact that previous dinner guests have "moved abroad" suspiciously often.
Locations
Vellmont Manor
A sprawling manor house decorated in excessive gothic style — gargoyle sconces, velvet curtains, and oil paintings with eyes that seem to follow you. The dining room seats twenty around a long mahogany table. A crystal chandelier provides flickering candlelight. The "artifact" sits on an ornate pedestal at the head of the room. Every door seals with Arcane Lock when the murder is discovered.
The Dining Hall
The centerpiece of the manor. A long table set with silver, crystal, and more forks than anyone knows what to do with. The walls are lined with portraits of previous Vellmont patriarchs, one of which conceals a secret passage. The pedestal holding the "artifact" is positioned where everyone can see it — and where the mimic can see everyone.
The Hidden Passage
A narrow stone corridor behind the portrait wall, dusty and unused except by those who know it exists. It connects the dining hall to Vellmont's private study. Scratch marks on the floor suggest something heavy has been dragged through recently. The passage smells faintly of old blood.
Vellmont's Study
A locked room filled with occult books, star charts, and a desk covered in correspondence. A Perception check reveals letters to a "patron" written in Abyssal. A locked drawer contains a list of names — previous dinner guests, each with a date and a red line through their name.
Quests
Solve the Murder
A guest is dead, the doors are sealed, and everyone is a suspect. Investigate the crime scene, interrogate the guests, search the manor for clues, and identify the killer before they strike again. Magic is encouraged — but the killer may have planned for that.
Escape the Manor
The Arcane Locks on every door won't budge until the truth is revealed — or until someone finds another way out. The hidden passage, the windows (magically reinforced), and the chimney are all options worth exploring.
Encounters
The Mimic Revealed
The ornate pedestal transforms into its true form — a massive mimic that has been posing as furniture. Its pseudopod lashes out as its maw opens where the flat surface used to be. It has been well-fed over the years and is larger and more dangerous than a typical mimic.
Lord Vellmont Unmasked
When his pet is threatened, Vellmont drops the charming facade and reveals his warlock powers. Eldritch blasts crackle from his hands as he fights to protect the creature he has nurtured for decades. He fights with desperate, unhinged fury.
Factions
The Dinner Guests
True Neutral
Six strangers with secrets, trapped together in a sealed manor with a corpse. Alliances will form and break as suspicion mounts. Each guest has something to hide, but only one secret is truly deadly.
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