1

A 5th edition D&D mini-adventure for three to six 1st

level adventurers featuring a train heist, a mysterious
uncle, and a runaway train filled with carnies-turnedrebels.

Written, Designed, and Edited by:

Alex Welk with special thanks to Sarah Welk
Art by Publishers Choice Quality Stock Art, Rick Hershey/Fat Goblin Games/Empty Room Studios
Visit anarchydice.com for free game resources.
Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, Players Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Masters Guide, D&D
Adventurers League, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. All
characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards of the Coast. This material is protected under the
copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express
written permission of Wizards of the Coast.
2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Manufactured by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile-Bochat 31, 2800 Delmont, CH. Represented by
Hasbro Europe, 4 The Square, Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1ET, UK.

Line of Fire ..................................................................4

Engine Car ..............................................................4
Dining Car ...............................................................5
Sitting Car ...............................................................5
Sleeper Car .............................................................5
Cargo Car ................................................................6
Luxury Car..............................................................6
The Lampshade Theatre ..................................6
Troupe Members .................................................7
Kicking off the Fun .............................................7
Going Too Fast......................................................8
Aftermath ...............................................................8
Treasure ..................................................................9
Train Map ................................................................. 10

One of your players has

gotten a mysterious and vague letter
from an eccentric Uncle Marv who
has finally cracked some sort of
treasure map. Marv intends to meet
them on a train heading towards the
city nearest the clue, but the fireelemental-pulled train is going to
have a few performance issues.
Treat this as a quick hook
to tie into a treasure hunt, a
launching point for a campaign, or
a train attack to spice up a long
train journey.
To increase or decrease the
number of players, increase the
number of thugs on each car
proportionally, increase the value of
the loot proportionally, change the
number of nobles to match (and use
the correct hidden message below),
and modify the strength of the
named enemies.
For higher level characters,
make enemies stronger, the train
more difficult to stop, and the
treasures more valuable.

Engine Car
This 20-foot by 15-foot room
is made of solid cast iron riveted
together with a treated wood floor.
The door to the car is solid steel with
a strong lock. At the front are three
separate control panels tied to
controlling the huge fire elemental
that can be seen through an iron
grate. These controls, dials, gauges,
and levers set the containment fields
on the elemental to control the speed
of the train without giving the
elemental enough slack to break free
or harm the train. A small wooden
step stool sits in front of each and a
bigger, moveable wooden
platform sits in the middle of the
room, with built in steps that give it a
height of about four feet.
Engineer: Etrikus Maulpho
is the Halfling engineer driving the
train. If the Lampshade Theatre group
members get access to the engine car, they
quickly incapacitate the engineer and stop
the train. AC 11, 5 HP.

Controls: The Theatre group

will turn off the elemental containment
once they have killed the four nobles or
passengers start fighting back. The
elemental will rage against its
imprisonment, heating up the
engine car and tracks to
dangerous levels and
accelerating the train 3 mph
each round. Any character can
attempt a difficult intelligence
check as an action to figure out
the controls and three successes
will retake control of the elemental,
allowing the user to stop, speed up,
or slow down the train as an action.
Normal acceleration for the
elemental train is around 1 mph
each round. Each mph is around 9
feet/round of movement speed.
If the train should reach 66
mph, the elemental becomes
hot enough to melt the tracks.
This destroys all cars it is
pulling, dealing massive
damage to anyone still inside, as
it makes the trip all the way to the
end of the line where it will crash in
a huge explosion, destroying the
train station.
Elemental: This huge fire
elemental is kept blinkered and
tightly leashed by magical bonds.
When partially freed, it exudes an
aura of heat that requires a
moderate constitution save each
round by those in the engine car,
near the open door, or touching the
closed door. Failure means the
creature takes minor fire damage.
AC 18, 67 HP. Heat Aura: Once
released, creatures within 30 ft.
must make a moderate
constitution save each round
or be knocked prone and suffer
a level of exhaustion.
The Door: This heavy
metal door is locked and the
conductor had the key until it is
stolen by the Lampshade troupe
when they defeat the conductor.
Once the troupe releases the
elemental, they snap the key off in
the lock. To unlock, the key needs to
be mended or a difficult lock picking check
needs to be made which will take a minute
to be completed.

Applying water from the bar, ice

spells, or other methods to cool the door
stop the need for checks each round from
touching the hot door.
Coupling: Each car of the train is
connected by two couplings that are
accessible when standing between cars. The
first connection needs an easy strength or
dexterity check to release and the second a
moderate check of the same type, each
attempt requiring an action. Cars not
connected to the engine car halve their
speed each round until they come to a stop.

Dining Car
A small dining car, 40 feet long by 15
feet wide and ten feet tall, holds a pair of
round tables with four stools each and an L
shaped bar at the back. Wood flooring is
swept clean, wood paneling goes halfway up
the wall, and green wallpaper covers the
remainder along with the ceiling while a few
gas lamps dot the walls. The double doors
into the car slide into the walls to allow
passengers entry to the train while sliding
wooden doors on the front right and back
right of the car open to the engine car and
sitting car, respectively.
The mustachioed bartender offers
ale for 4 copper a mug, 10 copper a pitcher,
and freshly drawn spring water. He can cook
a few basic dishes to order on the small
furnace behind him. Eight stools sit alongside
the bar. There are a few windows on either
side of the car. Two well-dressed young
people sit and chat idly at the front most
table, a few passengers sip ale at the bar, and
a gruff dwarf marches up to the players to
check their tickets.
Noble: Guadal Il-Allen is the heir to
the Il-Allen fortune. AC 10, 4 HP.
Noble: Desire Aligor, the eldest
daughter of the Aligor noble family. Taking
the train to meet her spouse to marry and
solidify a noble alliance. AC 11, 3 HP.
Conductor: Bartholemew Egredt is
a burly dwarf in scale mail and shield
emblazoned with a silhouette of two lines
sandwiching a ball of flame. With a grunt, he
berates passengers for their tickets. He
keeps a key to the engine car under his
beard in violation of train regulations. When
the Lampshade Theatre group makes it
move, he is the target of their first strike,
and is defeated by being slammed into the
floor by Wits hard enough to be heard
throughout the train. AC 15, 8 HP.
Bar: In one of the cabinets, there is
a spare, Halfling-sized engineer outfit that
provides advantage on saves against heat.

Larger creatures trying to wear it move at

half speed. This requires an easy
investigation check of the bar to find
without spending three actions searching
the whole bar.
Passengers and bartender: These
are random bystanders all of which will
cower at the first sign of trouble. AC 11, 4
HP. Some may have helpful skills, see the
random passenger table if players seek aid
successfully with an easy intimidation,
persuasion, or deception check.

Passengers
Carl the Doctor: Healing, wisdom checks, or
forensics.
Jones Shmagon, Carpenter: Buildings,
constitution checks, or demolition.
Ylda Iormas the Wise, Mapper: Distance
estimation, intelligence checks, or geography
scouting.
Burk Proil, Bodyguard: Guard prisoners or
strength checks.
Lilliana of Trel, Pickpocket: Dexterity checks or
acrobatics.
Persiua Coolscar, Entertainer: Charisma checks,
social insight, or calming passengers.

Sitting Car
Row after row of thinly padded
wooden benches are about half filled by
passengers. One of those passengers is a welldressed young woman. Wooden sliding doors
sit at the front and back of the car on the
right side, connecting the car to the dining
car and sleeper car. Numerous windows line
both sides of the car.
Noble: Faderica Alucia is the first
legitimate child of the duke of Alucia,
traveling to pick a history and mathematics
tutor. AC 12, 6 HP.
Passengers: See the Dining Car.

Sleeper Car
A thin hallway with a few windows
connects the front sliding door to the back
door on the right side of this car while
numerous smaller doors lead to small, private
sitting rooms. Each of these rooms has a
padded bench on the front and back wall that
can be pulled out into a bed. These rooms
each have a window and overhead luggage
rack as well.
All but the first two rooms are
currently occupied by between one and four
passengers each.

Uncle Marv. AC 14, 13 HP.

MOV 30. ATK +3 Dagger, DAM
(1d4+2 Piercing)
Passengers: See the
Dining Car passenger entry.
Extra nobles if more
than four players. Darius
Protelius III or Jennifera Elicia
Kresht. AC 12, 4 HP.

Cargo Car
The sliding wood door
opens up to an open car with a
reinforced wooden floor, no
windows, and a massive set of
double sliding doors on the right
wall of the car. A second wooden
sliding door leads to the luxury car
and a stout ladder leads to a roof
hatch. A number of boxes crowd the
front of the space while a large net
at the back end of the room secures
smaller luggage and items to secure
rods.
Passenger Luggage: These
items are marked and will be
reported as stolen if taken.
Bag of workman's clothes (5
gp). Artisan woodworking tools
(30 gp). A wrapped childs toy
(5 gp). A healers kit. Crate of
wooden handles (35 gp). An
empty leather suitcase (15
gp). Other similar traveling
items of little worth.

Luxury Car
A finely engraved sliding
door moves without a sound to
reveal a wood paneled, carpeted
room complete with bedroom set,
dresser with a mirror, two sitting
chairs, and a windowed door to a
small landing and stairway off
the back of the train. The older
man in black tends to a small
barware set while a younger,
well-dressed man sits at the
back, reading from a covered
book. Windows are evenly spaced
around the room and are adorned
with curtains. The back steps end
only a couple feet from the ground.
Noble: Marian Nostra is the
young son of the powerful Nostra
family. His hobby is elemental trains

and he secretly hopes to one day be

a train engineer but he lacks
confidence. He has a book detailing
how to become more confident and
face your fears along with an
impressive train control diagram
he has drawn. With his nose in the
book, he will offer his services as a
train expert once the train starts to
accelerate out of control. Listing various
procedures off the top of his head as if
reading it from the text, he is gathering up
his courage to face almost certain death
running into the engine car unprotected and
alone to shut down the elemental. Having
another in the control room with him,
wearing the Halflings spare overalls, or
protection from the heat will help him
survive the ordeal. AC 11, 5 HP.
Butler: Arvus Blathers is an elderly
butler highly critical of Marians cowardly
nature and bookwormishness, but he masks
it behind a passive-aggressive and servile
demeanor. He stays behind in the luxury car.
AC 9, 2 HP.

The Lampshade Theatre

This group is a former performance
theater from the large city that the players
boarded the train at. Separatist rebels have
radicalized the groups leader, Jem, and
through her most of the rest of the troupe.
Jem received a coded message with a
mission, that Wits decoded. Their purpose is
to destroy an economic lifeline, kill heirs to
powerful noble families, and prove
themselves to the larger organization.
The Lampshade Theatre group is
trying to get passage on the train, disperse
throughout the cars, and take hostages to
convince engineer to open the engine car.
Once they have control of the train, stop it
away from any cities, kill four nobles, and
destabilize the fire elemental with
banishment charges. After the train
becomes uncontrollable, escape with
engineer and conductor so it cannot be
stopped before melting the tracks and
destroying the train station.
Lucky breaks: Conductor has a key
to the engine car, so they dont need to wait
for hostages. Two nobles are in the dining
car and one is in sitting car, so those three
die quickly. The elemental is easily
antagonized and doesnt need the
banishment charges from the cargo hold.

Unfortunate coincidences: Heroes

are on board. One noble back in the luxury
car is well versed in elemental trains.
Undisciplined theater carnies dont stick to
the plan; they try to rob people first.
Back-up plans: Destroy the fire
elemental with the remaining banishment
charges to at least block the train line, kill
four nobles, and escape to the countryside.
In the worst case, kill the elemental, lock the
engine car door, and escape killing whatever
nobles they can on their way out.

Troupe Members
Juggler: Yellow, purple, green, and other random
brightly colored cotton clings closely to the lean
performer. They wield a large wooden pin as a
club. AC 13, 5 HP. MOV 30, ATK +2 club, DAM
(1d6+1 bludgeoning)
Lifter: Darker, muted colors adorn these
muscular performers and stage-hands. Lifting
straps of leather studded with metal rivets are
wrapped tightly around their fists. AC 12, 7hp.
MOV 30, ATK +3 knuckles, DAM (1d6+2
bludgeoning)
Fire Breather: Garish reds and whites of this
individuals cloak are stained with soot and their
face is painted up like a red, cartoonish devil.
They attack with lit torches and can spray forth a
gout of oil held in a bladder in their stomach to
spew flames. AC 13, 5 HP. MOV 30, ATK +2
torch, DAM (1d4 bludgeoning +1 fire), 1/day:
Flame breath: 5 cone of fire for 1d4 fire damage.
Dexterity save, DC 11, to reduce damage by half.
Wits: Absolutely massive, seven-foot-tall, threefoot-wide man wearing only a leather kilt. Right
hand has W I T S tattooed on four of his
knuckles and W A G E R S tattooed on the
knuckles and thumb of his left hand that has six
fingers. Despite his appearance and brute
strength, he is an avid reader and chess player.
Often used as a hustle to let smart opponents
choose the competition and then rout them in
games of intellect. AC 15, 34 HP, MOV 30, ATK
+4 fist, DAM (1d8+3 bludgeoning). Improvised
Shield: Can wield doors, tables, or other objects
of a similar size as if they were a tower shield.
Can charge in a 30 line dealing 2d6 damage to
those in his path unless they make a moderate
dexterity saving throw to move out of the way.
Thin Woman: Rail thin woman only covered in
long knives strapped to her body with black
leather. Bends and contorts at disgustingly garish
angles around Wits shoulders. Deadly with a
thrown knife. Her skeletal, waifish form is slowly
revealed as she lets loose her knives. AC 16, 19
HP, MOV 35, ATK 2 x +4 knife (60 range), DAM
(1d6+2). Contortionist: She can squeeze through
any gap smaller than a cantaloupe with no
penalty.

Jem: A woman clad entirely in various shades of

bright greens and blues, Jem has pointy ears and
bright green hair. Her long blade has an intricate
geometric pattern of angled and sweeping metal
wires. AC 14, 21 HP, MOV 35, ATK +4
Longsword, DAM (1d8+3), Spells (3/day): Wall of
Lines, Isometric Escape, and Acute Barrage.
Wall of Lines: Creates a shimmering barrier of
mixed, brightly colored, translucent shapes that
occupies a single plane of up to 50 square feet of
surface area. This can support up to 100 pounds
and collapses after taking 25 damage.
Isometric Escape: Two purple triangles appear
underneath the feet of the caster, allowing them to
glide six inches above a solid surface as if skating on
ice. This triples their movement speed if they move
in a straight line, but costs 5 feet of movement
speed to change direction.
Acute Barrage: Triangles of translucent force
shoot out from the hand of the caster, dealing
1d4+1 psychic and 1d4+1 slashing damage to
creatures in a 15 ft. cone. A DC 13 dexterity save
reduces the damage by half.

Kicking off the Fun

Dining Car: Jem, Wits, Thin Woman,
two fire breathers, four jugglers, three
lifters, a few passengers, and Uncle Marv
board on the dining car at a stop about one
third of the way to the final destination of
the train.
Cargo Car: Two lifters and a juggler
at the same stop bring on the troupes
luggage including banishment charges onto
the cargo car. Jem, Wits, a fire breather, a
lifter, and the Thin Woman stay in the
dining car while the others move to the
sitting car.
After boarding, Uncle Marv finds
the players and invites them to join him in
one of the two sleeper car rooms he has
rented. Once in the front sleeper car room,
keeping the second room empty to prevent
eavesdropping, Marv begins to spell out his
plan. He came across a scrap of map in an
ancient language during his

previous career as an adventurer. Bored in

his retirement, he has been working with
scholars to decode the map and believes he
has the key to the first stop on a long lost
treasure map.

Going Too Fast

Just as he is ready to pull out the
map to show the proof, there is a knock at
the door. Marv shushes the group and goes
to see who it is, but goes white. He has a
knife held to his throat by a juggler while
two lifters flank the doorway to usher the
group to follow them to the cargo car. At the
same time, a loud thump is heard from the
front of the train as the conductor is crushed
by Wits. The juggler will attack Marv if the
players do not comply. Once they reach the
cargo car, the three colorfully clothed
carnies make the players sit before starting
to search through passengers luggage, not
paying much attention to their hostages.
If the players do not take advantage
of this lapse, they will gather up the
banishment charges and two will leave for
the engine car, leaving behind the juggler.
Engine Car: Jem gets into the engine
car right after Wits slams the conductor and
they find the key. She turns on the brakes to
stop the train. If she gets the signal that her
troupe have killed all the nobles or things
are going south, she will shut off the
elemental containment, forcing the train to
accelerate forward at a reckless speed. If the
lifters with the banishment charges make it
to the engine car but things are going south,
shell set the explosives before closing the
door. In any case, she will attempt to snap
off the key in the door upon exiting,
providing battle support, and then escaping
with the Halfling engineer under an arm.
Dining Car: Wits and Thin Woman
sneak attack to kill the conductor and two
nobles in the car. After that, they keep the
passengers in this car under control until
the sounds of combat are heard in the
sitting car. If they hear combat, Wits will rip
off a sliding door to use as a shield while
Thin Woman throws he knives.
Sitting Car: Two fire breathers, four
jugglers, and three lifters are robbing the
passengers in the sitting car. They are
keeping the noble separate from the rest but
will not attack until the banishment charges
get brought to Jem. However, if Wits or the
Thin Woman come into this room, they will
attempt to kill the noble.
Sleeper Car: The two lifters and a
juggler from the cargo car intended to rob
the passengers in the sleeper car but found
the heroes in the first car and thought to
bring them back to the cargo car before
getting the banishment charges.

When the train starts to pick up

speed, things get unsafe. Roll a d% each
round and add half the current speed in
mph, rounded down:
1-80: Smooth running.
81-95: Bumpy tracks. Treat
movement inside the train as difficult
terrain. Those outside the train make
moderate dexterity saves or are flung to the
edge, hanging on for dear life.
96-100: Curves and bends.
Creatures inside must make a moderate
dexterity save or fall prone. Creatures
outside must make a difficult dexterity save
or be flung to the edge, hanging off the edge.
101+: Sharp turn. Creatures inside
must make a difficult dexterity save or fall
prone and take 1d6 damage. Creatures
outside must make a difficult dexterity save
or be flung off the train, taking 3d6 damage.

Aftermath
For each noble saved, their families
are very much in the debt of the
adventurers. They wont necessarily offer a
monetary reward, but the players can count
on a favorable opinion or luxurious
accommodations at the families homes.
There is no reward for any
passengers saved, except for the goodwill of
the common folk and renown.
Any theatre troupe people captured
will be happily taken away for questioning
by the local authorities once the train pulls
into the station. Clever questioning could
produce hints as to the Lampshade
Theatres motives, the secret message, or
what the salt lake mussel clue means.
Destruction of the tracks will ruin
the long term mobility of the players and
supplies to the destination city.
Saving the train, engineer, or
conductor will result in the train company
rewarding the players with a lifetime access
ticket to the train. Clever players could
negotiate a further reward of access to the
luxury car if unreserved.
Wits and Jem have a copy of a
coded message scroll on their persons. The
cargo car holds the troupes luggage and
supplies. Other passengers items are
generally clothing or other personal effects
that are of minor value, and will be counted
as theft by the authorities if discovered.

THE LAMPSHADE HOP

.yOUNG DANCErS ROTATE HALfWAY AROUND
TURN OfF ThE BIG LIGHTS zAP
rETURN ExPEnDED CROWN CANOPy gROWTHS
yEARn fOR .fAR ExIT pROJECTED EXUBERAnCe
gALLOPING yELLOW MArE z .eALOT hOP bREAKs LEFTy
yARN vINE xANTHIC .rePEAT vELLUM sCROLL qUeUE
REVERSE THE LInE boW AND OPEN YOUR EYES

YOUNG DANCERS/TURN OFF BIG LiGHTS

No capitalized letters:
.yrffhzrxnygynf .fxpnegyrz .ehbsyyvx .revsqenbo
ROTATE HALFWAY AROUND
Rotate letters by 13:
lessumekaltlas .skcartlem .ruofllik .erifdraob
REVERSE THE LINE
Flip the whole thing:
boardfire. killfour. melttracks. saltlakemussel.

of the escaped theatre group or direct law

enforcement. The fact that the number of
nobles match the number of players is
meant to be either a red herring or
foreshadowing.
Experience: The adventure is set up
so that the theatre group thugs make up 2-3
easy battles, Wits and the Thin Woman are a
tough encounter, and Jem is an average
encounter. Stopping the train will itself
count as an average encounter. For 1st level
characters, this works out to
(3x15+1x60+2x30 = 165 XP)

Treasure

If playing with other than 4 players,

replace the 6th line with the following.
(3) Killthree = eerhtllik = rreug
gALLOPING yELLOW MArE z .EALOTrY BreAK
SuRgE LEFTy

(5) Killfive = evifllik = rivs

gALLOPING yELLOW MArE z .EALOT DrivEs
LEFTy

(6) Killsix = xisllik = kvf

gALLOPING yELLOW MArE z .EALOT KICk
LEAvES LEfTy

If the players are having lots of

trouble, an easy investigation or wisdom
check should give some out of game tips
such as rumkin.com/tools/cipher/.
A moderate check lets them know
that this is some sort of encoded message,
the encoder would leave instructions for the
receiver, and the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th lines
seem to be total gibberish.
A difficult check or better should
give them one of the steps to decode it, or
solve it depending on if your players are
stumped or bored, respectively.
Failure on these checks do not close
off the information permanently but will
require one in game day to clear their mind
and rethink things before attempting again.
Salt lake mussel is the clue on
where to go after the theatre group finishes
the mission. It can be the Salt Lake tavern
that sells rotten mussels as a dish, so buying
a plate is the tip-off that you are in on the
separatist movement. it could be a tavern in
the town with the train stop that sells a lake
mussel dish and ordering it with salt is the
code phrase to tell the tavern keeper to sit
you in the secret back room. This is an open
end for the DM to tie the Lampshade
Theatre to, whatever would have been their
next steps, employer, or contact with a safe
house. This is also the place to go to find any

In the cargo car:

A moderate difficulty, locked war chest
containing four Banishment Charges.
These small, rune inscribed boxes have
a short fuse leading inside to a
collection of magical salts. Once lit, it
will detonate in 1 round, dealing 1d3
psychic damage to all creatures within
30 ft. Extraplanar creatures and
outsiders hit by the blast must make a
DC 16 wisdom save or take 4d8 psychic
damage. Critical failure on this save
teleports a creature back to its home
plane. Success reduces damage by half.
Burlap sack containing a bedroll, half
completed marble miniatures (28 gp), a
lime green, dyed dagger (21 gp),
artistically burned wood depicting a
nature scene signed by Murz Durmik
(11 gp), and a third of a pound of
worked leather (30 gp). This bag is
loosely tied, so if the train has hit any
bumps, its contents are spilled across
the floor.
Burlap sack, neatly tied, filled with a set
of carved, balanced juggling bricks (25
gp), a trophy case with 250 sp (3 gp +
25 gp), and 5 yards of sheepskin (25
gp).
A tiny felt bag that holds a smaller bag
of poppy seeds (33 gp), 305 sp (30.5
gp), and 75 cp (0.75 gp)
An unmarked chest with no passenger
tag is locked with a difficult lock. Inside,
it has a small applewood idol to a minor
god of the harvest (30 gp), a folding
stool (10 gp), 17 iron ingots (34 gp),
and a 20-pound bag of purple apples
(20 gp). This belongs to someone on the
train, but they would not be able to
prove ownership if the players are
unscrupulous and take it. However, they
will harbor resentment and could show
up in the future.

10