the heist of the vespertine cabaret
The Vespertine Cabaret is many things: a world-renowned performance venue, an abandoned wizard’s tower, an unexplained nexus of magical power, and an active crime scene. A local private investigator has tied several disappearances to the club and is looking to hire a team of adventurers to put the pieces together and discover the location or fate of those gone missing. Does your party have the skills to uncover the true nature of the cabaret and its star?
please enjoy this accompanying playlist
story hooks
These are some of the hooks I see leading a party into this adventure, but if none of these take your fancy feel free to come up with your own.
A local investigator or police-ish force has connected a plethora of missing person cases to the Vespertine Cabaret spanning decades, and they are seeking adventurers to infiltrate the venue and discover what lies within.
It is known that a lich owns and operates the Vespertine Cabaret but not for what purpose, and someone wants to know why.
The Fantastical Mister Porfirio, acting as a barker outside the cabaret, invites the party to dine there free of charge.
An NPC the party are familiar with has gone missing and their last known location was the Vespertine Cabaret.
A rival performance venue has hired the party to discover why the Vespertine Cabaret is so successful.
people
Elliette (she/her)
The current headliner at the Vespertine Cabaret. She is beautiful and charming but distant. She seems to float wherever she goes, and walks the line between seeming utterly indifferent to her environment and being fascinated by anyone who gives her attention. She is touchy, flirtatious, and at times careless; she lets her guard down easily and often has to be extricated from possibly unsafe situations by her staff. She normally plays a set in the evening which lasts about two hours, then mingles with the crowd in the cabaret for a few hours more, after which she retires to her quarters in the upper levels of the tower. Elliette dresses in blue and white and has gently wavy white hair cut in a short and voluminous bob. She is over six feet tall and has a slender and narrow frame. Secretly, Elliette is the current alter-ego of Madame Vesper, a once-human lich (MM 203) and the original owner of the wizard’s tower that is now the Vespertine Cabaret. When not performing, some of her rituals include:
recasting create undead daily to maintain Porfirio, Maeve, and Romilly’s servitude
recasting Leomund’s secret chest every 60 days
choosing an audience member to feed to her phylactery once a month
Madame Vesper (she/her)
Formerly a human wizard and currently a lich. Madame Vesper is the owner of the cabaret and also its headliner, taking new forms (via true polymorph, concentrating for its full duration) every so often to as to allay suspicion and to play new ‘characters’; currently Elliette. She hasn’t taken her true form in centuries and feels little connection to her original personality except that, then as now, her main motivation is eternal fame. As a mortal, she desired recognition for her developments and discoveries in her field (illusion), but received little. A bitterness grew within her toward the general public’s disinterest in her passion and toward her colleagues’ lack of support for her studies. She nurtured this bitterness and turned her desire for renown on its head- now she would pursue fame of any kind and at any cost. This lead her to the decision to become a lich, as she felt she didn’t have enough time left in her life to achieve fame in a wholly new field. Madame Vesper turned a heart-shaped locket given to her by her parents into her phylactery and sought out Hecate for the gift of lichdom. Being a high level wizard and illusionist Vesper had little trouble gaining an audience with the goddess, and Hecate granted her lichdom on the condition that no children’s, parents’, magic-users’ or shepherds’ souls were fed into Vesper’s phylactery, and that she would spend her life as a lich seeking power and prosperity through magic. Being motivated by fame Vesper decided to pursue stardom, as it would bring her the most fame with the most diverse people. In lich form, Madame Vesper has a corpse-like face and body with long stringy black hair, tattered blue robes, and is adorned in silver jewelry, much of which has moon motifs.
The Fantastical Mister Porfirio (he/him)
The master of ceremonies and owner (on paper) of the cabaret and Madame Vesper/Elliette’s right hand. He is very talkative and likes to make others the center of attention. When he’s not performing his emcee duties he socializes with guests of the cabaret, checking in and catching up with regulars and making sure to greet new faces. He has an uncanny knack for remembering names and other details about patrons of the venue and goes out of his way to make everyone feel welcome. He likes to make a big show of giving tables complimentary food and drinks, usually multiple tables a night and especially to first-time guests. Porfirio is secretly a former ghoul created by create undead that Madame Vesper later turned into a noble via true polymorph, concentrating fully to make the transformation permanent while retaining the servitude from create undead. He has been in her service for almost two centuries, and has acquired some of the abilities of a bard in that time. His attitude toward Madame Vesper is neutral; he doesn’t like being bound to her but is grateful for his role in the cabaret. If given the opportunity he would choose freedom but he would remain at the cabaret.
Maeve the Mallet (she/her)
Madame Vesper/Elliette’s personal bodyguard. She is 9 feet tall and so muscular that she has to walk sideways through doorways. Maeve takes her job extremely seriously and is not especially talkative with guests while working. When she isn’t on duty she is boisterous, friendly, and always ready for a drink and a good joke. Like Porfirio, she is a ghoul who has been turned into a thug who has acquired some of the abilities of a barbarian. She would not choose to be free from Madame Vesper if the opportunity presented itself, and she would respond violently to third-party attempts to free her. She sees Vesper as her mother, creator, and master, and will defend her against all harm of her own will, free or not. If Vesper is defeated while Maeve lives, she will seek vengeance on those responsible.
Romilly Quick (she/her)
Head of security and guest services at the cabaret, Romilly is constantly on the lookout for guests who seem like they could possibly free her from Madame Vesper’s control. During performances she works closely with Flyboy at the bar and on busy nights will help them with waiting tables. To most people she is stern and short, but she cares deeply for Porfirio and Maeve and will open up with them. Like Porfirio, she is a ghoul who has been turned into a spy and has acquired some of the abilities of a rogue. She desires freedom greatly and will assist any who are attempting to defeat Madame Vesper. She tries to convince Porfirio and Maeve (who she calls brother and sister) that they deserve freedom to little affect, but she will fight for their freedom as well as her own regardless of their desire for it.
Flyboy (any pronouns)
Madame Vesper’s homunculus who serves as the cabaret’s bartender and surveillance. Doesn’t speak, but understands all languages due to Vesper’s permanent tongues effect. Conveys any unusual goings-on in the cabaret to Vesper telepathically. Wears a silk vest and a top hat and has a grumpy attitude.
places
The Vespertine Cabaret
A five-storey stonework tower that looks to be a few centuries old. Locals know it to have been a wizard’s tower at one point, but the name and nature of its prior occupant have been lost to time. About fifty years before this adventure, the then abandoned and decrepit tower was ‘bought’ by Mister Porfirio, renovated, and rebranded as a performance venue. During the day it still looks like an unassuming stone tower, but at night during performances many-colored light pours out of its doors and windows and loud music and raucous cheering seem to threaten its structural integrity.
The first and second floors
The ground floor of the cabaret houses the bar, the stage, and the majority of tables for audience members to dine, drink, and delight in Elliette’s performance. A spiral staircase circling the inside of the tower’s wall leads to the upper floors, the second of which is one-half open to the main floor, allowing guests to view the stage from this level. The second floor has many plush couches and is favored by guests looking for a more intimate experience; the music is quieter, and the lights of the stage illuminate this floor more dimly.
The third floor
The spiral staircase leads further up to Porfirio, Maeve, and Romilly’s living quarters on the third level. The staircase is blocked by a door with a mundane lock to which only Porfirio, Maeve, Romilly, Flyboy, and Elliette have keys. The cabaret’s staff spend the majority of their time here when there’s no show on.
The fourth floor
The fourth floor contains no rooms of interest but is instead riddled with traps, illusions, and puzzles (see page 13) that need to be avoided in order to ascend to the fifth floor unscathed. The entire floor is disguised with hallucinatory terrain causing the floor to appear like a well-appointed lounge, ostensibly for Elliette to host guests. If a creature succeeds on their Intelligence (Investigation) check to disbelieve the illusion, they see the room as it truly is but still need to succeed on Investigation or Perception checks in order to notice traps.
The fifth floor
The fifth floor, accessible only to Elliette, Flyboy, and those she personally escorts, contains her bedroom, her study, and a magic item of her own design: a ten-foot diameter sphere constructed of one inch thick solid gold that floats six inches off the ground and can only be entered or exited by saying a command word that only Elliette (and Flyboy by extension) know (DM’s choice). The sphere has 100 hit points, a damage threshold of 20, and is immune to all damage except magical bludgeoning and piercing damage. Additionally, the golden sphere is a barrier to movement both on the material plane and the ethereal plane (as the ethereal plane in AD&D). Within the sphere is the miniature chest that serves as the material component for Elliette’s Leomund’s secret chest. The large chest, on the ethereal plane and inside the golden sphere, contains Elliette’s phylactery. In her study can be found her spell book containing the following spells:
1st level: catapult, charm person, color spray, find familiar, mage armor, magic missile, shield, sleep
2nd level: blur, cloud of daggers, kinetic jaunt, locate object, mirror image, pyrotechnics, shadow blade
3rd level: blink, counterspell, glyph of warding, haste, hypnotic pattern, major image, speak with dead, vampiric touch
4th level: arcane eye, fabricate, hallucinatory terrain, Leomund’s secret chest, locate creature, polymorph
5th level: animate objects, geas, modify memory, teleportation circle, scrying, steel wind strike
6th level: contingency, create homunculus, Drawmij’s instant summons, disintegrate, guards and wards, magic jar, Otto’s irresistible dance
7th level: crown of stars, etherealness, finger of death, plane shift
8th level: feeblemind, maze
9th level: imprisonment, time stop
Any other treasures and details about Elliette’s private quarters (or any other places) I leave to those running the adventure to determine.
tricks, traps, and other setbacks
Instead of including scripted setbacks, I’ve included a list of various traps, puzzles, and various other complications for PCs to encounter. Include as many or as few as you would like according to how challenging you wish the adventure to be, or add your own!
Regarding knowledge (or a lack thereof)
How much the party are able to easily find out, from a knowledgeable NPC for instance, is a simple way to give them an edge. For example, regarding the cabaret’s fourth floor, they might be told any of the following:
The fourth floor of the cabaret is disguised by hallucinatory terrain, making a room of dangerous traps and difficult puzzles appear to be a comfortable lounge.
The fourth floor is disguised by hallucinatory terrain, but what lay under the illusion is unknown.
The fourth floor is not what it seems, possibly due to a magical effect of some kind.
The fourth floor is dangerous, but it’s unknown exactly how.
Alternatively, if you want the party to rely on figuring things out on the fly rather than thorough preparation, they might know nothing about the hazards on the fourth floor in advance.
Throughout
Porfirio’s glyph of warding/Tasha’s hideous laughter traps in places where guests ought not to be.
The fourth floor
Pressure plates that cast Otto’s irresistable dance on the creature that steps on them.
Crates (disguised as couches by the hallucinatory terrain effect) that cast sleep as a 5th level spell when sat on.
At the top of the stairs leading to the fourth floor, an illusory door with a mundane lock that appears to be very difficult to pick. Upon attempting to pick the lock or otherwise interact with the door, it is revealed to be incorporeal and can be simply walked through.
A 5ft diameter hole in the ground leading to a mini-oubliette on the third floor- the oubliette is 15 feet tall and 5 feet wide, with a hidden door that can only be easily opened from the outside (the door opens inward, but has no handholds or anything to grip on the inside).
Spring traps that launch creatures out nearby windows when stepped on.
The fifth floor
Elliette/Vesper‘s familiar keeps an eye on her quarters when she is performing.
The magical golden sphere makes a loud gong-ish noise when struck.
Elliette/Vesper’s has cast an 8th-level glyph of warding on her spellbook which will affect anyone other than her who opens the book with feeblemind.
stat blocks
Elliette/Madame Vesper - medium undead, chaotic evil
Strength: 8 Dexterity: 20 Constitution: 16 Intelligence: 20 Wisdom: 14 Charisma: 16
AC: 18 (mage armor)
HP: 135
Speed: 30 ft
Saves: Con +10, Int +12, Wis +9
Skills: arcana +16, insight +8, performance +9, perception +8
Damage resistances: cold, lightning, necrotic
Damage immunitites: poison, nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing
Condition immunities: exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned
Senses: truesight 120ft, passive perception 18
Languages: all (tongues)
Legendary resistance (3/day)
Turn resistance: Elliette/Vesper has advantage on saving throws against effects that turn undead.
Rejuvenation: If she has a phylactery, a destroyed Elliette/Vesper gains a new body in 1d10 days, regaining all her hit points. The new body appears within 5 feet of the phylactery.
Spellcasting: Elliette/Vesper is a 20th level spellcaster (spell save DC 22, spell attack +14 (+3 staff)). She prepares spells from her spellbook (above) according to her whims, but always has mage armor, shield, counterspell, Leomund’s secret chest, modify memory, and etherealness prepared.
Lair actions
Once on each of her turns, Elliette/Vesper can cause the music in the cabaret to get louder or quieter according to her wishes. The volume of the music can range from completely quiet (creatures can hear normally) to deafening (creatures can’t hear anything over the music). Likewise she can control the volume such that creatures can only hear within a given range.
Actions
Multiattack: Elliette/Vesper makes two weapon attacks (+3 rapier, +14 to hit, 1d8+8 piercing damage). She can cast one cantrip in place of one of those attacks.
Bonus actions
Bladesong: Elliette/Vesper gains +5 to her AC, a +5 bonus to damage rolls with melee weapon attacks, advantage on Acrobatics checks, a +5 bonus to any Constitution saving throw she makes to maintain concentration on a spell, and her walking speed increases by 10 feet. Her bladesong lasts for one minute or until she becomes incapacitated, dons medium or heavy armor or a shield, or uses two hands to make a weapon attack. She can use this feature six times per day.
Reactions
Song of Defense: When she takes damage while using her bladesong, Elliette/Vesper can use her reaction to expend one spell slot and reduce that damage by an amount equal to five times the spell slot’s level.
Legendary actions
Elliette/Vesper can take three legendary actions, one at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. She regains spent legendary actions at the start of her turn.
Cantrip: Elliette/Vesper casts a cantrip.
Charming gaze (costs 2 actions): Elliette/Vesper fixes her gaze on one creature she can see within 10 feet of her. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or become charmed for 1 minute. The charmed target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. If a target's saving throw is successful the target is immune to Elliette/Vesper's gaze for the next 24 hours.
Disrupt life (costs 3 actions): Each non-undead creature within 20 feet of Elliette/Vesper must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw, taking 6d6 necrotic damage on a failure, or half as much damage on a success.
Tactics
Elliette enjoys fighting and doesn’t take it particularly seriously; her own immortality has both dulled her empathy for other creatures’ pain and reduced the seriousness of her own ‘deaths’. She sees combat as just another medium of performance, and the wounds she inflicts are as much art as her music in her mind. She will make poor tactical decisions if she thinks they will make the fight more interesting in some way unless she knows her phylactery is in jeopardy. Whenever possible, she will avoid causing lethal damage to those she fights so that she can feed their souls to her phylactery.
The Fantastical Mister Porfirio - medium undead, chaotic neutral
Strength: 11 Dexterity: 12 Constitution: 11 Intelligence: 12 Wisdom: 18 Charisma: 20
AC: 11
HP: 40
Speed: 30 ft
Saves: Dex +4, Cha +8
Skills: deception +8, insight +7, persuasion +8
Senses: darkvision 60ft
Languages: common
Silver tongue: When Porfirio makes a Persuasion or Deception check, he can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.
Bardic inspiration: Three times per day, Porfirio can use his bonus action to grant a creature within 30 feet of him a Bardic Inspiration die (a d12).
Spellcasting: Porfirio is a 5th level spellcaster (spell save DC 16, spell attack +8). He knows the following spells:
cantrips: blade ward, friends, minor illusion, prestidigitation
1st level (four slots): charm person, silvery barbs, Tasha’s hideous laughter
2nd level (three slots): calm emotions, detect thoughts, gift of gab
3rd level (two slots): antagonize, glyph of warding
Actions
Rapier: +4 to hit, melee, 1d6+1 piercing damage.
Tactics
Porfirio is by no means a fighter and will only engage in melee combat as an absolute last resort. He prefers to avoid fighting and employs many methods to do so. He would rather make an enemy (by casting charm person or Tasha’s hideous laughter, for instance) and avoid them indefinitely than engage in conflict, violent or not. When pressed or commanded, Porfirio will aid his allies from a safe distance, then flee a fight the moment it seems he might come to harm.
All that being said, he is still ultimately under Elliette/Vesper’s control. She may issue him any command she sees fit, and he will follow it unerringly to the best of his ability, per create undead.
Maeve the Mallet - large undead, lawful neutral
Strength: 18 Dexterity: 10 Constitution: 16 Intelligence: 8 Wisdom: 12 Charisma: 12
AC: 16 (unarmored defence, +1 shield)
HP: 90
Speed: 30 ft
Saves: Str +7, Con +6
Skills: athletics +7, intimidation +4
Senses: blindsight 30ft
Languages: common
Pack tactics: Maeve has advantage on melee attack rolls against creatures if at least one of her allies is within 5 ft. of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.
Action surge: Once per day, Maeve can take an additional action on one of her turns.
Sentinel: Creatures that have taken the Disengage action provoke attacks of opportunity from Maeve, and when she hits an opportunity attack against a creature, that creature’s speed becomes 0 until the end of its turn.
Unarmored defense: When she isn’t wearing armor, Maeve’s AC is equal to 10 + her Dexterity modifier + her Constitution modifier.
Giant’s grip: Maeve can wield two-handed weapons in one hand.
Actions
Multiattack: Maeve makes two greatsword attacks (melee, reach 10ft, +7 to hit, 2d6 +4 slashing damage.
Tactics
Maeve, despite her joviality and foolhardiness, is an incredibly violent person. She will turn on a dime from drinking and joking with the cabaret’s guests to throwing (or knocking) them out. Her job and her joy is protecting Elliette/Vesper and she does her job with boundless enthusiasm. If Elliette/Vesper isn’t giving her orders, she will defer to Romilly’s direction.
Romilly Quick - medium undead, chaotic neutral
Strength: 10 Dexterity: 18 Constitution: 10 Intelligence:16 Wisdom: 14 Charisma: 18
AC: 17 (+2 studded leather)
HP: 64
Speed: 30 ft
Saves: Dex +8, Int +6
Skills: deception +8, insight +6, investigation +7, perception +6, persuasion +8, sleight of hand +8, stealth +8
Senses: darkvision 60ft, passive perception 18
Languages: common
Cunning action: On each of her turns, Romilly can use a bonus action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.
Sneak attack: Romilly deals an extra 5d6 damage when she hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 ft. of an ally that isn't incapacitated and she doesn't have disadvantage on the attack roll.
Actions
Multiattack: Romilly makes two weapon attacks, both melee, both ranged, or one of each.
Shortsword: melee, +8 to hit, 1d6+3 slashing damage
Hand crossbow: ranged (30/120), +8 to hit, 1d6+3 piercing damage.
Reactions
Evasion: When she takes damage from an attack made by a creature she can see, Romilly can use her reaction to take half damage.
Tactics
Romilly is no stranger to combat as the cabaret’s head of security and will not hesitate to get physical if the situation calls for it, but prefers to end fights before they start, carefully watching body language for signs of violence and utilizing her sneak attack to down potential troublemakers. During performances, she watches the audience (both floors) from an opera box-like vantage point and will either dispatch Maeve to escort unruly guests out, or fire on guests she judges to be imminently dangerous. Romilly and Maeve have decades of experience fighting together and cooperate closely when they do.
Flyboy - tiny construct, neutral
Strength: 4 Dexterity: 15 Constitution: 11 Intelligence:10 Wisdom: 12 Charisma: 6
AC: 13 (natural armor)
HP: 5
Speed: 20 ft, fly 40 ft
Damage resistance: poison
Damage immunities: charmed, poisoned
Condition immunitites: exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned
Senses: darkvision 60 ft, passive perception 16, passive investigation 15
Languages: understands the languages of their creator but cannot speak
Observant: Flyboy can interpret speech he cannot hear as long as he can see the speaker’s mouth.
Telepathic bond: While Flyboy is on the same plane of existence as Elliette/Vesper, he can magically convey what he senses to her and the two can communicate telepathically.
Actions
Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 1 piercing damage. The target must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the target is instead poisoned for 5 minutes and unconscious while poisoned in this way.
Tactics
Flyboy will only bite a target if he is certain it will not put him in harm’s way. His only job in the cabaret (other than bartending) is to surveil guests, looking out for any unusual conversation or guests who appear armed or otherwise dangerous. Anything of note they observe is conveyed to Elliette/Vesper immediately and if she desires more information about anything she will direct them to focus his attention on whatever it may be. Flyboy uses his flying speed to stay out of range of danger, and if that isn’t enough to avoid damage they will flee.
