The Mysterious Client

The mysterious client is usually an NPC. He or she can be a player character, however, if that player is briefed by the DM privately beforehand.

However the client is played, the role is that of a person (or perhaps a deity) who contacts the main group of PCs and asks them to perform some task worthy of their thiefly abilities.

This storyline is easy to start because the client can always direct the PCs toward the first encounter. The most important feature here is for the DM to surround the client with an air of mystery. Perhaps the characters never see the client's face, or learn his or her name. Maybe all of their communications are in writing, and they are allowed no information as to where the client can be found.

Mysterious clients can be drawn from any and all character classes, or even from the ranks of monsters. A powerful and intelligent monster that cannot mingle freely with humans might seek thieves to perform some of its business. In the ultimate extreme, of course, the client turns out to be a powerful god or other extraplanar being, and the PCs are involved in really big time trouble before they know what's happening.

The task required of the thieves by the client can include theft, of course. Other possibilities include the search for a lost object, often requiring investigative work as well as stealth; the gaining of information by requiring the characters to serve as spies or scouts; or other even more nefarious tasks invented by the client or the DM.

Table of Contents