Introduction

This adventure is designed for the setting of Shakespearean Adventures Volume I: Shakespeare's Italy. It is provided here with text but without mechanics or character statistics for use with any game system. It can easily be adapted for a fantasy or swashbuckling campaign. The version which will be featured in Shakespearean Adventures will include full mechanics and statistics for Oroborus.

The adventure is based loosely on Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, a lighthearted tragedy, if such is possible, and a good setting for an adventure of this period in which many of the characters should be familiar, though some names and situations have been altered to freshen up the material. The background plot of the action is that of the play, broken down by the days on which the various major actions take place. The position of the characters in this is somewhat variable. The best option is to make them men associated with either the Capuletti or Montago faction, travelling through a number of the notable scenes and events as they happen. Alternatively they could actually assume the roles of the major characters, though that might cause some players to suffer from limiting preconceptions. Because of the perspective of the action. it would probably he best if they were of the Montago faction travelling around with Romeo, or from the family of Prince Escalio, hanging out with Merctuio.

Tne general background and plot should also be familiar to both players and GM, but there are enough twists to make this version of the classic tale interesting. The events and encounters are written with the assumption that the player characters have taken up with Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio. They should be given a general rundown of the personalities and capabilities of these three characters. What they do on their own initiative in the various situations is up to them.

Give the players a general outline of the situation in the city. Verona is ruled by a number of merchant noble familles, all under the dominion of Prince Escalio. Two of the fanilies , the Hontago and capuletti have a standing fued arising from an old arsument between some of the oldest aembers of the familles ' and kept alive by young hotheads . Some other families are allied one way or another, but the family of the prince tries to keep neutral and mainrain the balance and the peace, although its two representatlves among the active characters, Mercutlo and Farisci are allied to the Montago and Capuletti respectively, however, as members of the Prince's family they are generally not drawn into the feud.

Note that a full set of maps are given above. These are for reference during the scenario . Tney are in order, the Capuletti tower , Fra Lorenzo's chapel and cell, and the Capuletti crypt in the necropolis just outside of Verona. Note that some action also takes plaoe in Mantua . Which is another town not far from Verona. Also note that during this period both towns are under the general authority of the Doge of Venice, although he leaves administration to local rulers, like Prince Escalio.

Day #1

The adventure begins early in the morning as the principle characters are gathering in the market. Several servants of the Montago and Capuletti are exchanging words when Benvolio and any of the party wander in. The two servants of the Montago are Romeo's servant Balthario and a kitchen worker named Abraham. They are argulns with two housemen of the Capuletti. Benvolin seeks to break them apart and calm them. Tybalt Capuletti, a renowned braggart and swordsman. shows up, throws a few insults and goes after Benvolio with hls sword. Partisans of both sides show up and it turns into a general brawl. Lord Montago and Lord Capuletii show up with their wives and are about to enter the conflict , when prince Escalio rides in with a number of constables to stop the fight. All told, in the course of the conflict, there are 10 Capuletti plus Iybalt and 15 Montago plus Benvolio and the player characters . The partisans should be armed with clubs and knives, the constables with short swords and the more elite family leaders with rapiers. Tybalt is a brilliant swordsman, Benvolio is competent enough to hold Tybalt off for a while. The constables are well organized, but not exceptionally skilled.

Once the conflict is over, Prince Escalio abuses both house leaders, especially if there are any dead or wounded, and instructs them that there is a ban on duelling of any sort on public streets, with a penalty of death for any infringement. No one is taken into custody, because this was more like a riot, but the Prince is clearly unpleased.

After things break up, Lord Montago will take Benvolio and his companions (the player characters) aside to inquire after his youngest son, Romeo. He asks them to find Romeo and do something to entertain him and cheer him up as he seems to be in a rather melancholy mood.

After Lord Montago leaves they run into Romeo. After some discussion Romeo reveals that he is depressed because he is in love with a woman named Rosalina, a somewhat older woman of a non-aligned family who doesn't even know he exists. As they head towards the outskirts of town, they run into a harried servant who they recognize as being from the Capuletti household. They stop him and begin to harrass him, when they discover that he is carrying a list of people to invite to a masked ball in the garden of the Capuletti Tower. The servant cannot read, and asks them for help in locating some of the people on the list. One of those listed is Rosalina. Someone in the party ought to hit on the idea that if they go to the masque in disguise, they can sneak in and get Romeo together with Rosalina and cheer him up while having some fun in the garden of their enemy at the same time.

The masque is scheduled for that night . They decide to go, but plan to proceed cautiously. They pass the day around the town , perhaps visiting a bawdy house and certainly drinking a good bit of wine. You might add an enounter with a group of 10 or so Capuletti partisans, at which Benvolio wlll go to greatpains to avol d violence. Tybalt should not be in tllis group. Note that to get into the party they will need somsone with an invitation. Mercutio, a friend of Romeo and cousin of the prince was on the servant's list . So they will want to seek him out . That evening they succeed in finding Mercutio, who is bored and listless , and quite willing to have a little fun at the party, especlally as there is some dsnger and intrigue involved. Although he is a member of the prince's family, Mercutio is young and adventurous and likes to stir up trouble behind the scenes.

Romeo, Mercutio. Benvolio and the characters of the players go to the party at night fall. It is being held in the garden of the Capuletti tower. They enter through main gates, where there are two guards who are not actually particularly concerned about who comes in. The garden is large, crowded, and there is a pavillion and dance floor set up wlth a large numher of musicians and quite a few guests , many of them masked or wearing fantastical costumes, though some are not in costume.

Romeo approaches and attempts to romance Rosalina who rebuffs him as too young and too foolish. Others disport themselves gallantly with the ladies, and there are opportunities for romance for the player characters here as well. As the evening progresses, Romeo notices the very young Julietta on the arm of Count Parisi, a cousin of the prince, to whom she is about to become betrothed, and anouncement which is made at the party. She seems somewhat distracted and indifferent and is the daughter of Lord Capuletti. Romeo takes one look at her and forgets all about Rosalina, becoming enamored of her at first sight. Young though he is, Romeo is resourceful. He gets Julietta to dance with him and then draws her aside in the garden, out of the pavillion where the dancing takes place into a private grove where his natural charms have a strong effect on the young and impressionable girl. He manages to arouse her emotions and she is quite attracted to the mysterios stranger. He steals a kiss and then she is called back to the dance by his Nurse. He follows at a discrete distance and when her father makes the surprise anouncement of Julietta's engagement to Count Parisi both Romeo and Julietta are shocked. She by the surprise engagement and he by the fact that she is a Capuletti.

While all this was going on, Tybalt Capuletti spotted Romeo and got a pretty good idea who he was. He has had his eye on Romeo as a promising younger swordsman who might be a challenge to his supremacy as a duellist. Rather than confront Romeo he approaches Lord Capuletti, who restrains him in order to prevent bloodshed. Tybalt storms out, swearing of his plans of vengeance on Romeo. Some of the player characters may overhear this exchange between the two Capulettis.

When the party ends and the group leaves, they get separated from Romeo and begin searching all over the neighborhood for him. Meanwhile he has sneaked back into the Capuletti garden and his having a dangerous secret meeting with Julietta. Eventually they will give up and leave him behind, not believing he would do something as stupid as returning to the Capuletti garden.

At this point some encounters for the other characters might be possible. At the dance they might overhear Tybalt's threats against Romeo. They may have assignations with ladies from the dance in the garden. In addition, when they are out in the streets drunkenly looking for Romeo it is quite possible that their shouting will attract Tybalt who may come out to shut them up with some of his henchmen. Even so they will probably outnumber Tybalt and his men so he will restrict his attack to insults and threats, especially regarding Romeo.

After he leves Julietta, around dawn, Romeo goes straight to visit his friend , mentor and confidant, Fra Lorenzo, who lives some distance away from town in a cave by a small chapel . The party may have heard Tybalt's threats against Romeo and they may eventually think of looking for him at Fra Lorenzo's chapel, where they will find him, find out about his meeting with Julietta, and be able to warn him of Tybalt's plans. Despite their warnings he will go back to see Julietta anyway the next day unless physically restrained, and he has a hot temper and is a good swordsman, so that might be difficult. They might also find him with Fra Lorenzo early the next morning if they miss him the first time.

Day #2

In their meeting of the night before, Romeo and Julietta agreed to get married in secret, and in his meeting with Fra Lorenzo Romeo made the arrangements. On the morning of this day, Romoo comes into town and meets with Benvolio, Mercutio and the player characters in the town square, where they entounter Julietta's Nurse and her servant Pietro, who are looking for Romeo. Who they will not recognize, as he was masked when she last saw him. She has come to find out what wedddng arrangements Romeo has made and tell Julietta. She tells Romeo 0f Julietta's betrothall to Count Parisi, and he instructs her to have Julietta meet him at Fra Lorenzo's chapel where they wlll be wed. The player characters, Benvolio and Mercutio can accompany Romeo to the wedding as guests and winesses. After the wedding they will return to the town separately from Julietta, and the lovers have arranged to meet that evening to consumate their marriage.

When they come back into town they finally run into Tybalt, who is eager to take on Romeo. Naturally, now that they are cousins, Romeo is reluctant to fight him. Any others may of fer to fight on Tybalt (who has 10 men with him), and if none do, Mercutio will upbrade them as cowards and then challenge Tybalt himself. Regardless of who fights, Romeo will try to break it up. As Tybalt is probably a better swordsman than Mercutio or anyone else he faces, he will probably win, but whatever happens, both should be wounded. If Mercutio goes down and Tybalt is already dead, Romeo will pick up Mercutio's sword to help carry him away so tlhat he won't get caught for illegal duelling. Tybalt's men will see him with the sword and accuse him (because he is a Montago) of being tha actual killer of Tybalt. If Tybalt kills Mercutio or the player character he fights, Romeo will get mad, attack and probably kill Tybalt. No matter how it works out, Romeo should get accused of murdering Tybalt. Any other character can substitute for Mercutio's role here, so long as Tybalt dies and Romeo gets blamed. Prince Escalio will show up shortly and the characters should flee when they hear he is coming. They may have to hide out somewhere, perhaps at Fra Lorenzo's, and news will eventually reach them that the Prince has exiled Romeo from the city and would have declared his life forfeit, but was convinced not to by Romeo's family.

Meanwhile, Romeo, heedless of danger is going to attempt to consumate his marriage, so he wil insist that his friends help him into town and to Julietta's chambers, probably getting them to keep watch outside the house as well. How they work this out is up to them, but there are guards on the city gates and four man watch patrols, all of whom will be on the lookout for Romeo. In addition, the Capuletti house is in mourning for Tybalt and rather heavily guarded, with all the normal guards trippled. Romeo will spend the night with Julietta if all works as planned, and then they will have the same dangers to contend with in getting him out of town and to a safe haven in Mantua. They might also want to tell his family what is going on and get some cash from them for Romeo.

Day #3

In the morning Romeo awakes and flees the city. Soon afterwards, Lord Capuletti will come and inform Julietta that she will be marying Count Parisi with all possible haste. Julietta will flee to Fra Lorenzo's chapel to ask him for help, and he will send her back with a potlion which will make her seem to have died. He will then contact one or more of the player characters and tell them to go to Mantua, find Romeo and bring him to the Capuletti tomb, where Fra Lorenzo will meet them and they will revive Julietta and reuinite the lovers. They must reach Romeo before he hears of Julietta's supposed death.

When they get to Mantua, they go to the hostel where they were told Romeo was staying. They find things in panic and disarray, with with people running all about. When they finally get someone's attention, they are told to leave at once, as the hostel is being quarantined because of an outbreak of the plague. They are also informed that Romeo is staying at the house of the Count of Mantua. As they head for the door, 10 Mantuan Constables meet them and push them back in with the points of their halberds . They are informed that they must stay in the house for three days until they are sure thc plague has died out Then the place is boarded up and 6 men are left to guard it. The host appologizes for the bad taste of one of his other guests in dying there, and he offers them room and board for free. Despite this offer, they will have to find some suitable way to escape and get to Romeo in time . There should also be a small chance that they might catch plague while there. What. is more, when, they get to the Count's house, they will be questioned and scrutinized and delayed before they can see Romeo. The longer they take to get to Romeo , the greater the chacne that his servant Balthario, who knows nothing of the plan and knows where to find Romeo, will arrive with news of Julietta's death. This will mean that they have to catch up with Romeo or at least try. This will have to be carefully judged by the GM to minimize the chance of their catching him before the tragic last moment.

When Romeo hears the bad news, he will immediately head to Julietta's tomb to join her in death. The journey to or from Mantua is about five hours by horse, so to add to the difficulties, the journey will have to begin late at night and end around dawn. So the actual locating of Romeo will have to happen on Day #4. The schedule is that they arrive at the hostel in Mantua at 3pm. Balthario will arrive at the Count's house at 6pm, during which time they will be attempting to escape quarantine. Romeo will ride back slowly and arrive around 1am. If they ride fast they could arrive about 15 minutes later.

Day #4

As descrlbed above, because no one will get any sleep, this day flows right out of Day #3. They player characters will get back from Mantua a few minutes after Romeo and go straight to the Tomb. Romeo will have arrived first with Balthario, and shortly after Count Parisi will have arrived and when he finds Romeo they will fight. The party should arrive slightly after Romeo wins the fight, in time to come very close to stopping Romeo from killing himself, or more likely in time to stop Julietta from doing herself in on finding Romeo dead. Fra Lorenzo will arrive a bit later. If they waste little time and do everything efficiently they might actually be able to save the two lovers and get them away safely to Mantua. If the lovers die the two houses will be united in grief. If they live and flee, their union may eventually lead to the uniting of the two houses, and perhaps in a few years they will be permitted to return, especially if they can convince the Prince of Romeo's innocence in killing Tybalt.

The player characters could become big heroes if they can save the two lovers and somehow negotiate an end to the feuding between the two houses. Don't hesitate to throw additional obstacles in the path of true love or of the player characters and their supporting role. And if it seems appropriate, allow the tragic plot to be overthrown if the players come up with clever alternatives.

Locations/Map Keys

The Capuletti Tower - A little detail on the tower of the Capulettis might be useful. It is the firsr place mapped above. 1: This is the main entrance to the tower. with a heavy bonded oak door, and always guarded by at least two guards . 2: This is a dining hall for use by the family and guests. 3: This is a private entertaining chamber for meetings and the like. 4: Thesc steps lead to the several upper levels of the tower, where the private rooms are, including Julietta's chamber. 5: these are quar ters for live-in guards and servants. 6: This is the kitchen and guarters for the kitchen staff . 7: This is a gate to the garden and kitchen. It ls always watchad by 1 guard, sometimes more if the situation susgests it. 8: This gate is like #7. 9: This is the well used by the household. 10: This is the main garden, with all manner of adornments, including grottoes, a maze, and several small decorative buildlngs. There is a large clear area in which a pavillion and dance floorcan be set up, as they are during the party. The next morning workmen are there taking them down. ll: This is the balcony of Julietta's chamher, which can be cllmhed to and is located on tlne second floor near the room of her nurse and farther from the rooms of her parents.

Chapel and Cell of Fra Lorenzo - This is the second area mapped. It is a small chapel and dwelling, built into a mountainside in a heavily wooded area north of Verona. It is where Fra Lorenzo lives a hermit-like existence, charged with taking care of a chapel built in the cave where St. Gaufridi hid from Roman soldiers and died in a cave in. Fra Lorenzo is the confessor and friend of Romeo. He is also an alchemist and dabbler in the magical arts. By the numbers, it features the following things . 1: the chapel, with benches, sacred to St. Gaufridi. 2: The altar with an image of the saint. 3: a sealed crypt with the remainsof the Saint. 4: the semi-hidden entrance to Fra Lorenzo's cell. 5: Fra Lorenzo's cell, where he keeps a selection of books and odd herbs and artifacts, including alchemical apparatus.

Capuletti Tomb - This is the tomb where many generations of the Capuletti family are buried. Specifics are as follows. 1: This monument sits on an elevation above the underground tomb and has an entrance to it. The monument is inscribed with names and surrounded by columns. After a burial there will be one Capuletti guard on duty there to keep away robbers . 2: There is a fairly strong gate to the lower crypt. It is locked. 3: There are a number of dead bodies scattered about here, includlng Tybalt's remains if that becomes appropriate. 4: This is a raised platform on which Julietta will be laid out .