As a moderately successful adventurer, would you accept a mission to hunt for a lost cat? Perhaps, if the cat in question belongs to the chief official of the town you're in AND he's willing to pay lots of money for the cat's return.

The DM Background explains precisely where the missing moggie has got to and what it has got mixed up in on its travels... and the plot brewing beneath the streets. The adventure set-up is quite straightforward, a clerk in the employ of the 'Commandant-Burgher' of Vallidyl finds the party in a tavern and offers them the job of hunting for Jasper the cat, who fortunately is a quite distinctive animal. Naturally you can use another suitable town in your own campaign world, provided its got a reasonable sewer system and you can weave the backstory presented into its history.

Enquiring about the cat leads the party to an area of town little-visited, a district where, a couple of years ago, a dire plague was 'cured' by herded all those afflicted into an old warehouse and setting it alight. Not perhaps the Commandant-Burgher's finest hour in the service of the town, but it was effective if rather brutal. Apparently the cat likes poking around here, so the party will have to do likewise, however distasteful. The descriptions are bad enough...

The basement of the burnt-out warehouse and the sewers beneath are mapped clearly and described atmospherically, making it easy to conjure up the scene for your group. However, what isn't clear is how the antagonist discovered down there is going to react when the party blunder into his lair after the cat. You may wish to draw on the background to have him tell his story and attempt to win their sympathy, or you may prefer that there's a brawl straight off, as there is no indication as to what he might do.

The underlying plot is quite interesting and the party may wish to get involved. Will they foil the plot brewing down there or help it come to fruition? Or they may just grab the cat and return it to its owner for the reward... although if they do that they'll miss out on understanding a little more about the town in which they are.

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Reviewed: 9 March 2018