The Prison Escape II

Introduction: This encounter is designed to be used as a way to help DM’s cope with a
situation that has resulted in players ending up in prison. It is designed that the players
can opt for a non lethal escape, or a grand fight for freedom. An NPC is included to assist
the party with their escape.

This module can be adapted for 2-5 players of any level and maps of the
cells and jail layout are included.

by AJ

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 The story starts with the PCs locked up in jail their cells and shackles, however from where he
with all their possessions removed from them. is shackled he cannot see them and hasn’t been
able to successfully use mage hand to pick them
In the Cells up. However the vantage point some of the
1. The Cells players have will allow them to guide him. He can
You find yourselves in a small cell- 15ft by 15ft. Metal then retrieve some tools and get them all out of
bars separate the cells from each other, and you from the cells. Thats where the party comes in- they
freedom. may have to fight their way past guards, and he
The cells are dimly lit by candles in sconces around the
cannot do that alone.
walls, but you can see torchlight flickering on the walls
in the main room.
At this point you can have the players describe
As you look through the bars into the larger room, you how/ where he needs to position the mage hand
can see what looks to be a number of torture to be able to find a useful tool. Have the players
implements- you hope they won’t be using them on
roll perception to see what tools they can see.
you.
DC14 to find anything that will actually work.
At the far end of the room you see a doorway, which
you can see leads into a corridor- from which you can Anyone speaking must also perform a stealth
occasionally hear faint footsteps, but the bars of the cell check as to how quiet they are being DC10. If
stop you from leaning out to get a better view. they fail this a guard will appear through the door
to see what the commotion is.
As you look in the other direction, you see the corner
cell is holding a male tiefling with his arms shackled to If the perception check fails they can repeat- but
the walls. His face is bruised and he seems to be must roll for stealth each time.
asleep or unconscious,

If the guard appears he will remain there for the

Once he is awakened he will tell the party his rest of the evening and they will have to try again
name is Synth, and he has a plan to escape, but the following day.
needs assistance. He is in too bad a shape to
deal with the guards himself and is unable to get
free of his shackles. Once they have a suitable tool, Synth can pick the
lock of each cell and the shackles without a
Once the party have agreed to help him, he will
check, but the players will need to roll for stealth
explain his plan.
as each comes out of their cell, DC10. If they
Role-playing Synth pass this they can leave the cell successfully. If
Synth is a CE rogue. Although he has an evil alignment they fail the guard will appear from through the
he is not looking to engage in a fight with the guards. door and raise the alarm.
He is only concerned with self preservation. The party
are mainly of use to him to distract the guards, enabling
him to make his escape. If he gets the chance to leave Should this happen the party can fight the guards
them and make good his escape, he will leave the party or surrender and be placed back in their cells to
without a second thought. If a fight does break out, and try another day.
he sees no chance to escape, he will assist the party-
but from afar using his shortbow.
Role-playing the guards
Use the stats for a standard Guard from the PHB. The
He is an Arcane Trickster rogue and has a plan to
guards passive perception is 12. Players must exceed
use the ability Mage Hand Legerdemain. During
this if they are within 10ft of a guard- even if the players
his incarceration here he has been tortured for are in a separate room. The guards will not leave their
information (feel free to use this to weave in allocated stations unless they hear an unusual noise,
something from your current campaign storyline). which they will promptly investigate. The guards are
Whilst out of his cell he has seen the tools they quite lax in their security, and have a tendency to talk
use on him, and that they are left strewn on a amongst themselves whilst on duty. For this reason
workbench when not in use. He thinks these tools players who approach a door that has guards on the
could be used as lockpicks, to release them from

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other side can hear them with a perception check. As you look closer you can see the sleeping forms of
DC14. two humanoids in the bed furthest from the door.

Have the group perform a stealth check. DC10.

Failure will wake the guards. If the party decide to
attack the guards they get a surprise round.
In this room there are a number of chests with the
The lower areas guards equipment in. Players are free to take any
2. The Hallway they desire. Contents are as follows: wooden
shield, shortsword x2, club, spear and 30ft of
As you peer through the doorway looking for a way to rope.
escape, you see in front of you a 40ft long hallway, with
a number of doors leading off to both the left and right.
At the end of the hallway you can see a set of double
doors.
5. The Records Office
This hallway is quite bare, with the exception of a
couple of statues of warriors. The statues are As you look into this room you can see it contains a
purely decorative. There are no guards in this desk, a bookcase and a safe. On the desk you can see
an open book.
hallway, but players must make a stealth check
(DC10) each time they enter this area, as there This room is the records office for the prison. If
are 2 guards through the double doors at the end players look at the open book they will see it is a
of the corridor. If more than half the party fail the ledger book, with each entry being a list of names
stealth check the guards will hear them and will and the crime they are accused of. The latest
enter this area to see what the noise is. entires in the book are the characters names.
Looking at the names above theirs they can see
previous people who have been imprisoned, with
3. The Storeroom either a guilty or innocent verdict, and their
This room is small and cramped, with a number of punishment.
crates and boxes stacked around the edges. As you
look closer you recognise your backpack is lying on top
of one of the crates. Example Entries

The party can regain all of their gear they had Name Crime Verdict Punishment
previously here. Any gold they had they will find
half is missing as the guards have helped Velsaa Theft Guilty 2 years jail
themselves to this. Jones time
If the party choose to look through all the crates Oneshoe Forgery Innocent None
and boxes have them roll investigation. DC12
they can each roll an item from the trinket table. Damien Bribery Guilty Fine 1000
DC18 will provide 2 potions of healing, and a Vesh GP
potion of invisibility.
Blue Public Guilty Fine 50 GP
Falcon Disorder
4. The Dormitory
The players can search this office, and it can be
As you open the door you struggle to see in the
used as a good place to put any information
darkness. You can just make out a number of regular
shapes by the light seeping through the doorway a you relevant to the campaign. The safe is a
edge open the door. You can see the room extends combination lock and cannot be picked, however
round a corner to the left but are unable to see what a player who is proficient with thieves tools can
lies beyond the corner. make checks to see if they are able to crack the
combination. This requires 3 successful sleight of
If they enter the room and peer round the corner, hand checks in a row, one for each number of the
combination. This gets progressively harder,
DC15, DC 18, DC21.

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If the safe is cracked the players find; a diamond As you emerge from the staircase you see a similar
(100gp), 2x pearl (100gp), garnet (100gp), 2x room to the one you just left. Unfurnished and just a
potion of healing. They can also find any single door leading you to who knows where.
important information relevant to the campaign There are no guards in this room as it is
here. presumed the guards downstairs would deal with
any people trying to escape.
6. The Pantry
This is a small square room, in which lie barrels, crates 2. The Hallway
and bottles. This is clearly an area for storing food.
You peer through the door and can see a hallway with a
There is nothing in this room other than food and number of doors leading from it. You can also see it
drink, but the party can take some of these items extends around the corner. As you are watching you
to help restore them after being trapped in the jail see the figures of 2 guards emerging around the corner
with limited food. heading in your direction.

This hallway is guarded by a group of 3 guards.

As the party looks into this area they will see the
7. The staircase guards approaching, but will have time to get
There are 2 guards on the other side of these back into the staircase room before the guards
doors blocking people from making their way arrive should they so choose. The guards will not
upstairs. As players approach the double doors enter the staircase room, they march from one
have them make a perception check, DC14, to end of the corridor to the other around the corner.
see if they hear the guards on the other side of This enables the party to try and stealth out if they
the door. If they succeed; wish. An insight check DC15 and a stealth check
DC12 allows the party to observe the guards for a
while and work out the timings of their patrol.
As you press your ears against the door, you hear the They can use the rooms off the main hallways to
sound of voices coming from the other side of the door. hide in if they wish to take the stealth approach to
You can’t tell the exact number of people, but it doesn’t escaping.
sound like many.

3. The Kitchen
There are a couple of outcomes here; the players
may try for some form of distraction, encouraging You slowly edge this door open and as you do the smell
of baking bread wafts through the open door. It appears
the guards to open the doors themselves and try
you’ve found the kitchen. As you look closer you can
and stealth past whilst they investigate the sound. see a strange sight. Bread dough seemingly kneading
Otherwise they may decide to fight. Use the stats itself and spoons of pans stirring themselves.
for a standard Guard from the PHB for this, adjust
as needed depending on the level of your party. This is the kitchen for the jailhouse. It is staffed by
2 unseen servants who will go about their
business of preparing meals without heed to what
the party are doing. If the party investigate to see
what is happening in this room an arcana check
Now you have got past the guards, you can finally look
around this room properly, you feel a slight tinge of
DC14 would allow them to work out what the spell
disappointment when you realise there is nothing in this is.
room other than a spiral staircase leading up.

4. The Canteen
As you enter this room you see a frail looking human
female piling dirty plates on top of a trolley. This room is
The Upper Areas clearly where the guards have their meals. There are
1. The Staircase remains of food and drink on top of the tables that are
being cleared away by the female. There are also a

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couple of chairs scattered round for people to sit and who appears to be placing some weapons back in the
relax on. rack. He currently has his back to you and you think he
hasn’t noticed you, yet…
The female in here is a human commoner named
Ashlynn. She is an elderly lady who is just here to This is the armoury for the jailhouse. Players
do her job of cleaning up after the guards. On can find here any standard weapon they wish.
seeing the party she will be terrified and beg them There is one guard in here. He is a young human
not to hurt her. As long as the party are friendly to male and new to the job. He has been given the
her and do not threaten her she will let them leave boring job of cleaning the weapons in here and
without calling for help. If they try and threaten her sorting them away. Should he see the players, he
she will call for help, at which the 2 guards will be unsure what to do. If they try and attack
patrolling the hallway will appear. him he will fight back, but if they try and intimidate
him he will surrender, saying he never actually
thought he’d have to fight people in this job.

5. The latrines
9. The Captains Office
You slowly pull the door to this room open and are
Peering into this room you see that it is much more
instantly met with an unpleasant smell.
richly decorated than the previous rooms, there are
These the toilets for the jail. As the party enter bookcases lining the walls, and a large desk against the
they can hear noises from behind a screen in the far wall. Seated at the desk is a man wearing a smart
room. This room contains one guard who is uniform with his back to you.
occupied on the toilet. This room will be where the captain of the Guard
is located. He will not leave his room unless a
fight breaks out. If the players fully open the door
6.The interview room to this room he will see them and shout for
As you enter this dimly lit room you see it is very bare. backup. The patrolling guards will come to his
There is a table in the centre of the room with one chair assistance if they have not been subdued
on either side of the table. You see manacles on the top previously. If the players peer in and use stealth
of the table, and what you suspect to be patches of DC14 they can quietly close the door and retreat
blood on the floor. without him noticing.
There is nothing of note in this room, and there Role-playing the Captain
are no guards in here
The Captain will be furious that the party have made it
this far from the cells. As he calls for his guards to
assist him he will berate them for allowing the party to
7.The caretakers closet
escape. He can not be persuaded to let the party
As you push the door open to this room you see it is escape, so he will need to be incapacitated.
filled with items used in the cleaning of the jailhouse.
Mops, buckets and sweeping brushes are stacked
against the walls and you see a large tub of water you 10a and 10b
presume Is used for washing clothes.
You can see through the batter iron door into this room.
There are no guards in the room and it contains It appears to contain nothing but a wooden chair and
mainly cleaning supplies. Players can find some shackles attached to the floor.
wet commoners clothes in the tub of water that These are both holding areas for prisoners who
are soaking waiting to be cleaned. have not yet been sent to the cells below.

8. The armoury 11. The Reception Area

As you slowly open this door you can see weapons
As you open this door you can see there are a number
everywhere! In the middle of the room are a couple of
of benches, on which you can see people who appear
weapon racks and against the west wall are a couple
to be sat waiting to speak to the guards. You also see a
more. You also see an armour stand and an archery
desk, behind which is seated a guard. The final thing
target. You also see a guard at the far end of the room

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you see, is a wide double door at the opposite side of Armor Class 15 (leather armour)
the room, however there appears to be another guard Hit Points 33 (5d8 + 1)
stood adjacent to these doors. Speed 35 ft.
There will always be 2 guards permanently STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
stationed in this area. They have been told never 8 (-1) 19 (+4) 13 (+1) 14 (+2) 11 (+0) 12 (+1)
to leave this post by the Captain, and will follow
these instructions. These characters are to be
played as low intelligence, just doing what they Senses Darkvision 60ft, Passive Perception 13
have been told. As the party appear the guard Languages Common, Thieves Cant, Elvish,
behind the desk will attempt to stop them leaving. Infernal
He can be persuaded by the party that they have Saving Throws Dexterity +7 , Intelligence +5
been released DC18. Should this happen he will Skills Deception +4, Perception +3 Sleight of
allow them to pass- but will go to speak to the Hand +10, Stealth +10
captain tho check this. If he sees anything amiss Tools Thieves Tools, Disguise Kit
in the previous areas he will change his mind and
Sneak Attack: Once per turn, you can deal an
try and stop the party. The guard at the exit doors
extra damage to one creature hit with an attack if
will follow this guards instructions.
you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack
There are also 6 commoners in this area. Should must use a finesse or a ranged weapon. You don't
the party try and persuade them to help DC14- need advantage on the attack roll if another
they will try and block the guards from the party, enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that
allowing the party to flee the building through the enemy isn't incapacitated, and you don't have
open door. disadvantage on the attack roll.
Actions
12. The gardens Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5
As you pass through the double doors you emerge into ft. Hit: 1d8+4 piercing damage.
a well maintained garden with a gate opposite you, a Light Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to
gate to freedom. hit, reach 80ft./320 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d8+4)
This area contains flowers and a large well. It is piercing damage.
surrounded by low walls. The surrounding areas Spell Attack Modifier +5
can be added with whatever environment suits
the campaign you are playing. Spell Save DC 13
Cantrips Known: Friends, Mage Hand, True Strike

Should Synth have remained with the party all the Prepared Spells
way through, he will leave them at this point, but 1st Level (3 slots): Detect Magic, Burning Hands,
offer them a favour in return for helping him to Mage Armor, Charm Person
freedom that can be redeemed at a later date.

Synth
Medium Humanoid- Tiefling, Chaotic Evil.

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