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It's easy for a LARP staff to see a bunch of players sitting around the town square and think, 'Hmm, they're bored. Let's throw some orcs at them.' This is fun once in a while, but after two or three orc attacks, it gets a little old and a lot unbelievable. Think about it: if your favorite hangout got hit by a drive-by shooting every other week, how long would it stay your favorite hangout? But at the same time, the staff needs to be able to throw a low-stakes, hack'n'slash encounter at idle players every now and then. With that in mind, here is another Away From the Dinner Table low-stakes LARP module. The Critters in the Barn was a modified dungeon crawl. This one is a search-and rescue.

You Will Need:

• About a dozen kobolds (or other semi-intelligent, low-threat monster): get them from your NPC troupe
• Kobold masks (you do use masks, right?)
• Weapons for the kobolds
• Baby doll (to be the baby)
• NPCs to be the baby's parents (get them from the troupe)
• Weapons for one of the parents
• Wares (and perhaps a wagon or wheelbarrow to carry them in?) for the other parent
• A respectable sum of in-game coin for the parents
• In-game valuable trinkets for the kobolds--jewelry, serving silver, that sort of thing
• In-game worthless trinkets for the kobolds--stuff they took just 'cause it was shiny

The Prep:

You'll need to set up a kobold camp with the loot and the kid somewhere on your LARP field. That's about it. No big deal. But try to make it look like a proper kobold campsite: disorganized, dirty, cluttered, and so forth.

The Hook:

An ex-adventurer and an artisan come to town looking for help. It seems their youngster was abducted by kobolds as they were traveling, and there are more kobolds than the ex-adventurer can handle single-handedly. A couple extra swords would do the trick, though. The ex-adventurer can pay a small stipend, show the heroes where to go, and even help in the kobold-killing. What an easy way to have some fun and make a quick coin.

The Adventure:

It's as straightforward as you can get. These two people and their child were on their way to town to sell their wares (whatever they may be--candles, parchment, bread, potatoes, what have you) and they stopped for a rest. Their kid toddled a bit farther away from them than he ought, and a bunch of kobolds jumped out of the bushes, grabbed him, and took off. One of the parents (doesn't matter which) has some adventuring experience. He or she can show the heroes where the abduction took place and can track the kobolds. The problems arise when the heroes realize that their employer grossly underestimated the number of kobolds involved.

The poor parent only saw four kobolds grab the child. But alas for our intrepid band, these few kobolds joined up with another bunch. Now there are about twelve of them (or enough to make a significant threat to a group of three or four low-level adventurers). The kobolds have not done anything to the kid. . .yet.

For now, it's been amusing to keep the kid as a mascot. But they'll probably tire of this soon. The heroes should be able to tell the kid is unhurt from a distance. They should also be able to tell the kobolds have taken other plunder than just the kid. The campsite should be strewn with their haul, which should be mostly a lot of worthless junk, but also one or two valuable items.

At this point, the ball is entirely in the heroes' court. All they have to do is get the kid out alive. If they take too long in coming up with a plan, though, the kid's parent will get increasingly edgy, and will eventually charge the kobolds, full of righteous parental rage.

The kobolds are kobolds, and as such are cunning, but not smart. They will probably be fooled by a simple trick once. If attacked, they will fight for as long as it takes for them to start losing, and then will flee with whatever valuables (including the kid) they can carry. The kobolds will not deliberately kill the kid for any reason, though one of them may try using him as a hostage. This adventure will be over when the child has been returned to his parents.

The Loose Ends:

If any of the kobolds escape, they will of course be able to bother the heroes again. They'll probably go get help.

Perhaps the kobolds have been hired by someone to get a human child for some nefarious purpose? If so, their boss will certainly try again. If any kobolds got away, the boss will know who foiled his plan.

Perhaps the kobolds were on their way to a larger gathering, and their presence will be missed?

Perhaps the kobolds' loot includes a certain item with unusual properties--maybe it's cursed, maybe it's blessed, maybe it's an heirloom and the heroes will be rewarded for returning it--or summarily punished for 'stealing' it?

Or for a more nasty twist, what if the couple is in league with the kobolds and are trying to lead the heroes into an ambush?

Kick these ideas around with your LARP staff and see what new stuff you come up with. Game on!