Fair Play

Lights:

The PCs visit a medieval fair. They can compete at archery, jousting, knife throwing, story telling, showy magic, quarterstaff bouts on a log over a mud pit, etc. There is at least one contest suitable for each PC, and some of the prizes are quite valuable. Alert PCs might notice some smelly monks in long robes and deep, dark cowls in the audience at almost every event.

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The PCs frequently find themselves playing against NPC adventurers, all from the same party. The two parties are equally powerful and, since the contests are strictly nonlethal, the GM can play to win. PCs or NPCs watching an event might place bets, help their friends with a little magic, form cheering sections, etc. The NPCs are as diverse, creative, and unpredictable as any group of PCs, so anything is possible.

Action:

The fair ends when a small army of smelly humanoids throw off their monk disguises and begin to loot and burn. They probably take a few hostages, just to keep things interesting. Defeating them requires the combined forces of the PCs, the NPC adventurers, and any other interesting NPCs that you want to include.

Medieval Mobsters

Lights:

The party is in a tavern.

Camera:

A city guard enters the tavern and sits nonchalantly. The bartender announces that there has been some sort of special occasion and that "drinks are on the house". Suddenly, the bartender is killed by a mysterious poison dart. It came from somewhere in the bar, but where?

The guard at the table seems panicky. He looks around the bar, then runs out. If any characters from the party give chase, the guard will run for his life. If caught, he pleads over and over again that he didn't kill anyone.

Action:

A renegade city guard has been forcing the bar owner/bartender to pay "protection" money. In response, the owner has hired a private investigator to keep an eye on things, by posing as a customer. He's sitting in the corner, far behind the party, nibbling a stalk of celery.

The arrangement: when the bartender sees the renegade guard enter, he says the code phrase: "Drinks are on the house" to alert the investigator, but the P.I. is not really a P.I. He is, in fact, a leading crime-boss for the group that runs the protection racket in this town. He's been watching the renegade guard anyway, because the guard quit the group, and now seems to be muscling in on its turf. He shot the poison dart (through his cleverly disguised blowgun) to kill the barkeep, to scare the guard out of the business, and possibly frame him for the murder.

All That Glitters...

Lights:

This scenario is set up for a fantasy setting, but can easily be adapted for use in other settings. The PCs somehow come into possession of an obviously magical item. It should resemble "common" special items like wands or rings. Any spells or items that detect magic items will tag the item as magical. None of the PCs can identify it, even by magical means, so they have to visit a mage or magically gifted shopkeeper.

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The PCs either have never visited this person before, or have not hired him/her often, but he/she charges them a fair price to identify it. When the owner of the item tries to use it, however, it doesn't work as expected. (It's best if this can happen during a fierce battle.) The owner of the item can ask other mages to identify it, but none of them will be able to help. When the PCs return to the mage, he/she discovers a rune or other feature that he/she missed before, and identifies it as a different item for a higher price. The item, again, will fail to function. The PCs will need to return to the mage, who discovers a new feature each time they return (as well as charging increasingly higher prices).

Action:

The object has been masked by the mage by a spell of his/her creation. The item may be mundane but fashioned to resemble a magic item, or it may be magical but its powers were suppressed by the spell. The mage may be hoping the PCs will give him/her the item in disgust, so he/she can run the scam again. Alternatively, he/she may admit to the scheme if "coerced" and offer the group the real, unadulterated item (which is quite useful) if they go on a quest or per, form some service for the mage.