This adventure path has the PCs begin as agents of the Royal Homeland Constabulary. RHC constables are law enforcement officers tasked with protecting Risur   from serious threats, usually in the form of foreign plots, magically-equipped criminals, and various supernatural foes everyday police are not capable of handling.   The directorate in Flint   generally keeps busy thwarting arms smuggling, industrial espionage, and the sorts of magical and monstrous threats once handled by plucky self-motivated “adventurers.”  

Authority and the Law

Constables are invested with the authority of the king, and so are granted great leeway in their pursuit of justice and safety. While normal police must acquire warrants before they can search a building, RHC constables are trusted to not abuse their authority, and so can act as swiftly as needed. However, they are required to fill out proper paperwork and give testimony justifying their actions. A constable who uses his power for personal gain — or to harass anyone of political clout without good reason — will find himself penalized, demoted, and possibly even in prison.   Constables are expected to take suspects alive whenever possible. Do note that the Fifth Edition rules allow characters to choose to subdue an enemy rather than kill it when it’s reduced to 0 hit points, so long as they use a melee weapon and are within 5 feet of the target. Execution is a likely punishment if a trial deems a suspect to be an enduring threat, though some criminals with political value might be kept under special house arrest, as long as they do not actively pursue plots against Risur.   Every constable has access to binding ropes as well as handcuffs (albeit not quite as advanced as the modern variety). Most handcuffs include gold wire or thread, which can be tied off after the cuffs are closed to prevent creatures from teleporting while wearing them. In special cases, mage-cuffs can be requisitioned.     Constables can usually hand over arrested suspects to the police, though the RHC headquarters in Flint does have specially prepared cells to handle more dangerous criminals. These cells are all lined with enchantments similar to those of mage-cuffs, and are surrounded by rings of gold and bricks baked with salt and other warding agents. When needed, even more specialized items can be used, such as chains that can hold incorporeal entities or prevent shape-changing, hoods that block gaze attacks, and sigils to nullify innate energy threats like flaming elementals.   When it comes to interrogations, this is not a modern police force. Characters who choose to be enlightened and use less-violent approaches can often get what they need with less hassle, but threats and actual violence are common tools when trying to make suspects talk, and most superiors won’t bat an eye as long as no one is seriously injured or dies.  

Loyalty to Risur

The RHC recruits from police, military, universities, and many other sources of talent, occasionally even accepting foreign applicants. In addition to requiring extensive background checks, recruits must undergo a magical inquisition. The king grants each branch’s local director the ability to test the loyalty of all who would apply to join the constabulary.   A candidate who agrees to undertake the test opens their mind so the director may sense their true intentions. If they have any ill will to Risur, its people, or its leaders, it will be revealed. More importantly, the candidate must show a devotion to protecting Risur. Risur need not be the primary concern of the applicant — people are expected, after all, to value their family, friends, even careers — but this precaution has kept the RHC from ever having produced a traitor in the thirty years it has been active.  

Hierarchy and Teams

Approximately twenty constables are active in the Royal Homeland Constabulary’s Flint directorate, supported by almost a hundred researchers, office assistants, laboratory technicians, security guards, carriage drivers, and the like.  

Leadership.

The Flint branch is run by Lady Inspectress Margaret Saxby , a former superstar investigator who cracked many famous cases, became the darling of the public, and earned herself a knighthood. During the Fourth Yerasol War she married a young nobleman, acquiring clout among aristocratic circles. When the then-director of Flint’s branch of the RHC lost favor in a scandal, she easily won the appointment to take his place.   Lady Saxby leads her branch with incisive intelligence and an experienced intuition for determining which of her constables should pursue which threats. On the other hand, some complain that her confidence borders on megalomania. On several occasions underlings who have become a bit too popular for her liking have received transfers to less prestigious postings.   At nearly fifty, Lady Saxby remains quite fit and retains youthful beauty. She demands authority wherever she goes, and uses many subtle reminders to let people know who is boss. For example, there is only one (expensive, comfortable) chair in her office: hers.  

Units and Oversight.

Saxby’s role as director often has her dealing with bureaucrats and nobles, and while she officially is also the Chief Inspector, she leaves most affairs of investigations to Assistant Chief Inspector Stover Delft , who oversees four units of constables and coordinates their activities.   A local Flinter in his early 40s, Delft gets squinty and condescending when his authority is questioned, but he recognizes talent and good work. Since his own days as a constable, Delft has served a vital role handling logistics; in the past few years he’s even acquired a modicum of leadership skill. He often expresses pride for three of his old underlings who went on to head spy cells overseas.   Delft chews leaf of Nicodemus, and thinks he looks charming if he grins while sucking the juices. He walks with a cane because a mimic tore a chunk out of his leg fifteen years ago. He has a habit of poking inanimate objects with his cane before he gets too close to them, and spitting on them when he wants to be extra sure.  

Other Prominent NPCs.

Some other constables in the Flint branch include:   * Carlao, a human veteran of the Fourth Yerasol War who proudly wears his plate armor even in the city. He’s something of a director’s pet, and acts as Saxby’s trusted aide.   * Serena, a human tinkerer who often crafts gadgets useful for spying and “wet works,” but is surprisingly cheery, seeing all female constables as her sisters.   * Kaea, an eladrin evoker widely distrusted by the local fey and druids after she went undercover among the skyseers to expose a vekeshi murderer.   * Dima, a dwarf priest with an unhealthy fondness for filing paperwork.   * Josiah, a human sniper constantly fiddling with his rifle when he’s not on mission seducing people of interest.   * Gaethan, a half-elf ranger whose ability to speak with the dead has made him a bit addled and unreliable, having to carry a notebook to remind himself of his daily affairs.  

Headquarters

Located in Central District, the Flint branch of the RHC has one primary headquarters building, plus three satellite buildings containing libraries, laboratories, and more supplies and offices. The main headquarters has two floors, plus a basement for captured suspects. The jail has only twice reached capacity in the past thirty years.   Most rooms have gas-lit lamps either along the walls of in recesses in the ceiling.  

First Floor.

1. Entrance. At least two guards are on duty at all times. 2. Lower Hallway. 3. Western Stairwell. 4. Eastern Stairwell. 5. Interrogation Rooms. 6. Quartermaster Office. 7. General Supplies. Door locked. Quartermaster can access. 8. Evidence. Door locked. Requires paperwork to access. 9. Secretary Pool. 10. Guard Room. Each room typically has another two guards. 11. Morgue.  

Second Floor.

12. Inspector’s Desks. 13. Delft’s Office. 14. Support Offices. 15. Break Room. 16. Upper Hallway. 17. Saxby’s Office.  

Basement (not shown).

18. Holding Cells. At least two guards are on duty at all times. 19. Magic Cells. Spellcasters are kept here. The cells are enchanted to function like mage-cuffs; any attempt to use magical powers sounds an alarm and deals 10 force damage to the prisoner. A golden ward also blocks teleportation and summoning. Two columns glow with pale white light, which grants everyone within 5 squares resistance against all energy types.  

Investigation and Interrogation

Two common challenges during the adventure path will be following suspects to see where they go, and interrogating suspects. While occasionally these situations can be handled narratively or with ad hoc dice rolls, more structured scenes will use the following mechanics as a baseline. In these checks, you can use skill proficiencies with abilities that don’t typically represent them, like using a Strength (Intimidation) check instead of a traditional Charisma (Intimidation) check, or Intelligence (Stealth) instead of Dexterity (Stealth).  

Tailing a Suspect

Key Skills: Athletics, Deception, Perception, Stealth   Sometimes following a suspect is easy, and only one check is required to avoid being spotted. But if a target is trying to avoid being followed, the tailing challenge will include at least three “stages.” Each stage represents one attempt by the target to get somewhere or do something without being spotted.   For instance, a target might take a carriage to a merchant district (stage one), shop innocuously for a bit (stage two), then slip into a shop that sells contraband (stage three). Or a particularly cautious target might travel the streets in random routes (stage one), switch clothes (stage two), hop onto a ferry (stage three), wait for everyone else to get off the ferry first before leaving (stage four), then spend an hour in a busy dockside bar (stage five), before heading a few blocks away to an illicit meeting (stage six).   For each stage, the GM will narrate what the target is doing, then you must make two checks: one to keep up, and the other to stay hidden. The skill checks required will depend on the circumstances and your ingenuity. Based on the result of your checks and the target’s plans, the GM can narrate the next stage of the pursuit.   * “Keep up” DC = 5 + the target’s INT (Deception) or DEX (Stealth) bonus   * “Stay hidden” DC = 10 + the target’s WIS (Insight) or WIS (Perception) bonus   You can choose to hang back (you suffer disadvantage on the “keep up” check to gain advantage on the “stay hidden” check) or press the pursuit (gaining advantage on the “keep up” check but suffering disadvantage on the “stay hidden” check).   If you fail a “keep up” check, the GM will increase the DC of further “keep up” checks by 5, regardless of what skill is used. This represents you falling behind and having trouble seeing where the target is going. A second failed “keep up” check means that you have lost the target.   Likewise, if you fail a “stay hidden” check, the GM should increase the DC of further “stay hidden” checks by 5. The target has become suspicious and is more on guard. A second failed “stay hidden” check means the target has become aware of you. The target’s reaction will vary based on situation and personality — flight, confrontation, attack, calling for help — but your target almost certainly won’t let you see anything incriminating.   Of course direct observation is not the only tool in your deductive arsenal. In some situations, it can be more prudent to try another way to learn about the target, instead of risking tipping them off.  

Keeping Up.

Each stage requires you to make a skill check, typically Perception. If the target runs it might be Athletics. If the target goes through a crowded district, perhaps an Acrobatics check would let the constable weave through crowds, or even follow along on rooftops. If the target is a corrupt police officer and has other officers block anyone from taking the same route as him, Persuasion might allay the guards’ suspicions. Feel free to come up with your own solutions to these challenges, and the GM might grant advantage to a check for a clever plan.  

Stay Hidden.

Each stage requires you to make a check, typically Stealth. Deception might let you blend in with the patrons at a coffee shop. Perhaps you might even hold your breath and hide underwater with a Constitution check when following a target near the docks.  

Multiple PCs.

There are benefits and drawbacks to sending multiple constables to follow a target. It’s easier to keep up because you have more eyes watching the target, but it’s easier for the suspect to notice a group that keeps following him.   If multiple PCs trail the same target, each PC makes the checks. If anyone succeeds the “keep up” check, it counts as a success for the whole team. However, if anyone fails the “stay hidden” check, it counts as a failure for the whole team and increases the DC for future checks of that sort. If the team gets a second failure to stay hidden, only those who failed their checks are spotted by the target.  

Other Complications.

This just presents a fairly simple situation of tailing a single target. In practice, the enemies of the RHC often are clever in avoiding detection and pursuit. Avoiding an ambush by the minions of a potential suspect might be more important to the mission’s success than simply following blithely, and cracking enough skulls won’t necessarily crack the case.  

Interrogating a Suspect

Key Skills: Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Persuasion   An interrogation might involve subtly getting a suspect to talk about himself, verbally intimidating or manipulating a prisoner into confessing a secret, or physically punishing a target until he breaks. To get useful information, you must establish and maintain a rapport, and then extract information out of the target.   When running an interrogation as a sequence of skill checks, the players should explain or roleplay how the characters attempt to establish rapport and only then make a check. If they succeed, they can explain what information they’re trying to extract, and they can then make a check for that (see “Extraction”).  

Rapport.

Rapport reflects the target’s trust of its interrogator, or at least willingness to talk to you. In a casual conversation, a target might think you are just a normal person and have no reason to look for ulterior motives, and after establishing a rapport with you, the target might be willing to share things they wouldn’t with a total stranger. During a harsher interrogation, you must make sure that the target’s anger or loathing of his captor does not overwhelm whatever other emotion the interrogator is trying to evoke.   To establish rapport, you must make a skill check, typically against DC 10 + the target’s Wisdom (Insight) bonus. If you have a genuine connection to the target, they might make a Persuasion check to keep the target happy. Deception works if the target is faking a connection, particularly for seduction. If the target is a mage or scholar, you might even use Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion to make the target think you have common interests. Intimidation also works, but will usually leave the target unfriendly or even openly hostile after the interrogation.   The GM may grant advantage or imposing disadvantage depending on the circumstances of the interaction.   If you succeed on this check, rapport is established, and you can move on to “extraction.” If you fail this check, the target cannot be convinced to open up. You can try again, but the DC increases by 5. If you fail a second time, the target won’t respond to further attempts unless something changes in his or her relation with you (such as if you save the target’s life).  

Extraction.

Once you have established rapport, you can make a skill check to extract information from the target. This is almost always an Insight check against DC 10 + the target’s Charisma (Deception) bonus. On a success, you coax the target to reveal something useful, or discern a key clue from how the target phrases their statements. The target might even tell a total lie, but you are able to see through it and figure out what’s really true.   If you fail this check, the target gives up nothing and becomes a little wary. If you fail a second time, you lose your rapport with the target (this counts as one failure on a “rapport” check).  

Good Cop, Bad Cop.

When two or more characters coordinate in an interrogation, each PC can make a check to establish rapport. As long as at least one PC succeeds his check, the whole team establishes rapport. Only if everyone fails does the DC for further attempts increase.   Once the team has established rapport, anyone can actually ask the questions, but they just make one Insight check to extract information, using whosever skill modifier is highest.   In the classic “good cop, bad cop” situation, the pair coordinate to get the target to open up, and then the character with a stronger insight asks the questions. A variant is to have one person physically break a target, and then afterward a different interrogator asks the questions. Or the same mechanics could handle five PCs carousing at a bar, getting a suspect drunk and then encouraging him to brag about his secret mission.