The manager of the Patched Satchel has posted an emergency request in neighboring taverns for any adventurers or mercenaries willing to earn some coin. Upon meeting, he explains an issue that may seem all too familiar; strange insects have infested his store, camouflaging themselves as mundane items and attacking anyone tricked by their disguises. Naturally, he cannot trade while the bugs remain. He offers a generous sum of gold to those who are willing and able to meticulously exterminate the insects, with a bonus if they can do it quickly.

Perhaps more pressing than the infestation itself is the question of its origin. There must be an answer to where the bugs came from and how they got into both the bank and the Satchel. And should the adventurers hired just so happen to have also eradicated the thingsects in the bank, they may notice clues linking the two infestations, a secret thief den, a local noble, and a plot that connects them all in an underhanded bid for power.

The Patched Satchel Trading Post

Almost every inch of the store’s interior is lined with stock, ranging from rolled tents, to assorted tools, to packed rations and potion bottles, filling the space with a mottled smell of floral-tinged leather. The items are stacked on shelves, racks, and cabinets, separated by the front desk and another display table, a merchandise-laden cart propped artistically next to it. It is the definition of a presentable business, the tidiness extending into what you can see of the storage room behind the counter.

The Patched Satchel is a once-successful general store in the city’s trade district. It is positioned near taverns that are popular with adventurers, supplying this clientele with adventuring gear, travel supplies, and even minor potions. This strategy is hardly unique to the Satchel, however, the store is barely making enough to keep itself open amidst stiff competition. As a result, its proprietor was forced to dedicate more and more time to the store and eventually sold ownership of it, the Satchel becoming a subsidiary to a company within a local merchant guild with ties to the Alstaan noble family. Though this saved the store, it came with new, restrictive requirements for its former owner and now manager, Byron Marlson.

The store’s front room is a carefully curated and decorated display of its wares. Doors behind the counter lead to a less organized storeroom filled with additional stock, the closest of which is arranged to divide the room, hiding a makeshift bedroom that Byron began using as the store started to struggle. A smaller third room is likewise equipped with a writing desk between additional storage boxes.

It is this robust stock and ample storage spaces that now pose a threat. Thingsects have made their way into the items, hiding in the store’s displays and laying their eggs in crates and on shelves. Byron responded as quickly as he could, but the appearance of the bugs in the store’s front indicates that they have already infested the back rooms. He has kept the business closed since they were discovered, which has only worsened his temper, as the clock ticks on the Satchel’s already disappointing profit margins.

Hidden basement. Before becoming the Patched Satchel, the building was owned by a man who was in league with the local thieves’ guild. It was used as a cover that hid an expansive basement hideout for guild members to use when planning and executing their operations. As the guild experienced repeated failures, its organisation crumbled and members departed. This included the building’s owner, who sold the property to Byron but let any explanation of the basement go unspoken. Byron used the basement’s central room as storage but did not otherwise utilize the space, preferring to keep its former function out of sight and mind.

As part of the store’s recent purchase, the basement has once again been opened as a base of operations for the remnants of the failing thieves’ guild. Byron is not aware of this but has been disallowed from entering the basement after it was emptied of stock.

The entrance to this space is a trapdoor that is hidden under a rug beside the bed in the back room of the store. A character that moves through this area and who succeeds on a DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check notices a slight deviation in the floor as they walk across the trapdoor. The trapdoor is locked (requiring a successful DC 14 Dexterity check with thieves’ tools to pick). A character that closely inspects the trapdoor or that succeeds on a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check notices a pair of symbols carved into the wood. A character who understands thieves’ cant recognizes these symbols as marking a meeting point and safe house for thieves.

Acquisition papers. The writing desk in the back-most room contains papers pertaining to the Satchel’s recent purchase. A character notices these papers if they open the top drawer, and looking through them reveals details about the acquisition. This information includes the deal’s date, which places it several months ago, as well as the name of the company that purchased the Satchel: United Merchants Holdings. The paper also labels United Merchants, and now the Patched Satchel, as members of the city’s merchant guild.

A character that learns this can make a DC 17 Intelligence (History) check to recall information about United Merchants. On a success, they know that United Merchants is a holding company started by Horatio Alstaan, a noble in the same city, as part of the creation of the guild. It acts as a managing body for the guild and operates by buying controlling stakes in floundering businesses, allowing them to remain open in exchange for a cut of their profits. Horatio does not officially own the company but is known to have maintained his ties to the guild through investments in many of its businesses.

Basement instructions. A second note has been left on the table beside the bed, held down by a book. Reading the note reveals it to be a set of instructions given when the Satchel was purchased. Most of these instructions are to be expected, such as taking inventory and transferring paperwork, but a section towards the end draws attention.

The particular section of instructions pertains to a large basement space beneath the Satchel. They instruct Byron to have the space cleared of stock, with the majority of the items moved to a nearby warehouse and only a small collection kept in the basement. These remaining items include stock of ball bearings, caltrops, rations, and rope, as well as tools that include those found in thieves’ tools and tinker’s tools. A final instruction explains that the basement is no longer to be used for the shop’s storage and should therefore remain locked until further notice. 

Many of the clues in the Patched Satchel point towards its basement, hopefully prompting the party to investigate if they have previously encountered the thingsects infesting the bank. This vacated storage area is the setting of the adventure’s Part 3, which will bring together the final details of the plot behind the thingsects and how they connect to the Alstaan family. Of course, you are also free to use the infestation in the Patched Satchel as a standalone encounter, in which case these notes and even the basement itself can be omitted.

Map & Asset Downloads

The Patched Satchel is modeled on our very own ‘Trading Post’ battle map, which you can find along with its variant pack in our gallery. Alternatively, you can customize your own setting for the thingsects from a selection of our many building and decoration assets…

Byron Marlson

(CN male human commoner)

A diminutive middle-aged man looks to you. He is cleanly dressed with an obvious eye for presentability, yet the signs of stress are written across his face in lines and shadows, and stray hairs curl out of place from his otherwise well-groomed beard. The man quickly shows that this weathering is not only skin-deep, as he offers a brief, struggling smile that quickly fades back into the haggard details of his face.

Byron Marlson is the manager and former owner of the Patched Satchel. He is a once-affable man who has been rendered surly, almost perpetually frustrated, by difficult matters of business that now constantly occupy his mind. Each negative development in the Satchel’s situation has worsened Byron’s disposition, with the necessary decision to sell ownership of the store putting him in an indomitably bad mood. Its current role in illegal activity has tipped him over his limit. Though he disapproves, Byron feels both powerless and lacking the mental capacity to affect the situation, choosing instead to block it out of his mind and hope it resolves itself.

Byron tries to remain measured when talking with the party, but it does not take long for his impatience to show. When talking business, he simply wants to see the issue resolved. His mind is clearly preoccupied, and so he is not as discerning as one might expect of a businessman. He gives only cursory resistance to any pay negotiations, mentioning that the gold will be coming from the store’s owner, the last word of which drips with venom. 

Byron likewise explains that he will vacate the store for the day to let the party deal with the insects. He requests that they keep a list of items that they discover to be insects, so that it might be checked against the store’s inventory records, yet he seems to pay little mind to how easily this could be used to disguise theft.

Deceptive details. Byron gives the party a brief tour of the Satchel’s rooms when they first arrive for the job, answering any questions before he leaves. A character that succeeds on a DC 13 Wisdom (Insight) check while being shown the storage rooms notices that Byron pauses after showing them, suggesting that he may be omitting something. If this is questioned, or if a character asks about any additional areas that might be infested, such as neighboring buildings, Byron mentions that the store has a basement but rules it out as having been empty and locked since the store was sold. He intentionally hides any details about the true size of the basement or its history. Byron exasperatedly adds that the new owners are only paying for the store itself to be cleared of insects and that it will be up to them to pay more if the creatures have also made it into the basement.

Manipulating frustrations. Byron’s anger over the Satchel’s failings and resulting purchase has led him to harbor resentment for those who now own the store. He does not express this without prompting, but his misgivings make it possible to convince him to turn against his new employers under the right circumstances.

To do so, Byron’s frustrations must be stoked by exposing the full breadth of the plot surrounding the thingsects, including the thieves’ use of the basement and its ties to Horatio Alstaan. Byron is incensed by the use of the Satchel in Alstaan’s bid for further fortune and power. He has poured years of his own effort into it and not seen a fraction of Alstaan’s success, and Alstaan’s actions now threaten its reputation and existence. Byron can then be convinced to testify against Alstaan. This requires an appropriate Charisma check, as testifying is likely to also incriminate Byron, given his negligence and complicity in the plot.

Adventuring Gear Thingsects

Thingsects are most commonly found impersonating dungeon treasure, but they are nothing if not adaptable. Their disguises often lead to the insects being carried into all new environs, where new generations quickly evolve to fit in. These new nests usually include homes, hideouts, and storage areas, but every so often, a colony of thingsects is lucky enough to find their way into the diverse, item-filled heaven of a storefront.

The thingsects that now infest the Patched Satchel have spread amongst its stock. They hide in the form of the store’s adventuring gear, waiting to be bought so that they might travel to new horizons and prey upon the poor, hapless adventuring parties that take them. And their new forms have granted them similarly new abilities, making them a threat even to adventurers with experience facing other thingsects.

Swarm of Bearing Beetles

CR 1/8

The ball bearings begin to churn and move. Metallic orbs swarm over each other, carried by tiny black legs that appear out of the silvery surface and expose the bearings as dozens, perhaps hundreds, of tiny insects.

Swarm of Caltrops Creepers

CR 1/8

The caltrops begin to churn and move. Metallic thorns swarm over each other, carried by tiny black legs that appear out of the silvery surface and expose the caltrops as dozens, perhaps hundreds, of tiny insects.

The thingsects that infest the trading post sought out hidden, enclosed spaces to lay their eggs. Some found their way into pouches, their hatchlings then growing to mimic the contents. They now gather together as swarms of bearing beetles and caltrops creepers, imitating their eponymous objects in both form and function. They rely on hard shells and superior numbers to debilitate their prey, weakening their victims and preventing them from escaping the other thingsects lurking nearby.

Swarms not enough of a threat on their own? Then keep your eyes peeled for Bits and Bugs Part 3, which will come with a perfect partner for the swarms to hide and attack with!

Bottle Beetle

CR 1/4

Six clear legs unfurl, visible only once they separate from the translucent glass. The rest of an insect reveals itself in the same way, a tiny head turning up as its clear body skitters to life, carrying its bottle-shaped abdomen that continues to drip with now-questionable liquid.

Thingsects’ adaptability leads to significant variation even within particular branches of their evolution. There is perhaps no better example of this than the bottle beetle. The beetles all share a similar appearance, with a predominantly translucent body forming the shape of a bottle, vial, or similar receptacle. Where they vary is the contents of this body, as different beetles produce different poisons that are held in hopes of an unwitting victim drinking them. Some simply weaken the drinker, while others can blind them, slow their muscles, or even prevent them from healing while poisoned. The beetles can also spray their poison in a vaporous, lingering cloud, should the beetle be discovered without its trap paying off, ensuring that they remain a threat to even those who do not spend their time drinking bottles of random liquids.

Toxic tipple. Bottle beetles’ disguises are designed to trick their prey into drinking the beetle’s poison directly. A creature that drinks a beetle’s poison is affected by the beetle’s respective poison plume action. The creature has disadvantage on its saving throw, the effect lasts for 1 hour instead of 1 minute on a failed save, and the creature does not repeat its saving throw at the end of each of its turns.

Strandipede

CR 1/2

Tiny black marks between the rope’s fibers extend outwards, flexing joints that identify them as row upon row of insectoid legs. The attached ‘rope’ twists and suddenly snaps into divided sections. Two shorter lengths drop free on either side of the third, no longer held by the pincers that now protrude from either end of a wriggling, centipede-like creature.

Thingsects’ greatest strength is their ability to blend in with the objects they resemble, camouflaging amongst the mundane to pass themselves off as nothing more than ordinary objects. The strandipede takes this further by biting through sections of rope, string, or other cords and attaching itself to the frayed ends with pincers on its tail and mouth. It is indistinguishable from the material it holds to, and in rare cases, several strandipedes may even link together to mimic a full length of rope, only the most keen-eyed adventurers noticing the altered length or subtle differences. Those who do not and who make the mistake of handling the rope quickly find themselves constricted and prey to the strandipede’s venom.

Swarm of Morsel Mites

CR 1/2

The bite-sized scraps of food twitch with unnerving independence. Sections of their surfaces part and open, allowing insectoid wings to stretch free and begin buzzing. The low hum carries them into the air as legs and antennae become visible, the rations swarming together in a veritable banquet of bugs.

In the long list of known thingsects, even amongst those that hide as prized treasures or lay eggs in living victims, few are as reviled as morsel mites. Also called ‘ration roaches’, as both an insult and for their resemblance to the ordinary bugs, these thingsects have grown to resemble small bites of food, including scraps of bread, dried meat, and other nibbles. They maintain this guise until the moment an unfortunate victim tries to eat them. It is only once they are in their target’s mouth that they reveal themselves and release sprays of noxious, debilitating poison.

The mites’ poison paralyzes the mouth and throat, preventing their victim from biting down or calling for help. If that were not enough, its smell then alerts its kin. They attack in flying swarms with bites and further sprays of poison until the target is completely disabled, after which it is their victim that begins to resemble food.

Tarantulantern

CR 1

The lantern’s base separates and opens as if unscrewed, curling forward as eight segmented legs unfurl to support it. They lift the arachnid form, eight eyes blinking to life amidst the darkened metal, which bristles with tiny hairs. The lantern’s cage now comprises its abdomen, which the spider raises as the fire inside flickers and brightens, sparking with bioluminescence.

Similar to the bottle beetles are arachnids known as tarantulanterns. Named by the slim few who were not too repulsed or terrified to study them, these metallic arachnids resemble their namesake with cage-like abdomens that hold motes of fiery luminescence. The spiders can intensify this light as a means of attack, blinding targets to provide openings for thingsects to attack, move, or even resume their disguises. Their carapace also shares much of the durability of the metal it mimics, ensuring that the fast-moving, oversized spider that can blind its prey is also able to shrug off any attempts to stop it.

Support the Creators

If you enjoy this content and would like to support Troy in creating more, please consider joining the community that makes it all possible. You can receive discounts, early access, and other exclusive bonuses in exchange!

Visit Troy's Patreon Become a Patron!

You can also further support our talented token artists by buying them a cup of coffee!

Buy Hammertheshark a coffee

Before You Go

You may also want to be notified when we upload something new. Please come join us on social media, or subscribe to the email newsletter!