This adventure is loosely based on the James Bond novel Casino Royale by Ian Fleming.
This adventure is loosely based on the James Bond novel Casino Royale by Ian Fleming and is an edited version of the very first FS adventure I ran back in November 1996. You might want to read the novel first to catch the flavor. The theme here is high-stakes gambling and high level intrigue, although combat may occur depending on how things work out, so it won't be appropriate for all groups and works best for a small group, perhaps two or three PCs, perhaps with some secondary help. I will present only the main plotline as was seen by the PCs, but you may want to put in side adventures. Unlike the Bond novel, it is possible to approach the adventure from more than one direction as characters take sides in the goal of the adventure.
Royale Les Eaux is a very old and elegant casino on Criticorum, built in an archaic style reminiscent of 19th Century France. It is run by a private management for a consortium of different groups, including the al Malik, the Scravers, and others. (Use what you need; the backers of Royale should never become open.) Discretion is the word of the day and Royale, along with being a beautiful casino and resort, set on the picturesque coastline, is a location where many important parties meet to work out details in private, away from pressures of the public eye.
The Emperor Wars caused a lot of damage to the continent on which Royale is situated and it suffered itself during the war. However, now that things have stabilized, the managers of Royale have restored it to its original spendour and, during its open season from April to October, it has attracted some of the finest nobles, guildsmen, and clergy to its famous gambling tables.
Drox Vilon is a labor leader on Criticorum. He is the treasurer of the Criticorum Federated Vehicle Worker's Union, which has been agitating successfully--some would say too successfully--for better treatment of Criticorum's workers in general and vehicle workers in particular. He is smart, handsome, and well-spoken. In short, he is a fine representative for labor and for the Third Republic.
Unbeknownst to a lot of people, the FVW, far from being a real union, is a front organization for the Jakovian Agency on Criticorum. Because the al Malik secret police, sometimes backed secretly by both the Imperial Eye and the Hawkwoods, are very effective on Criticorum, it has been very hard for Decados agents to penetrate too far there, so they have decided to work through intermediaries. Drox's organization, in addition to being useful in its own right, is a great front for money laundering. The Decados recently deposited the sum of 50,000 Fb in the care of Vilon to be dispensed to agents throughout Criticorum to finance their operations.
However, unbeknownst to the Decados (or at least to his handlers--wheels within wheels... :) Drox Vilon is a compulsive gambler and has a taste for fine wine and women, much finer than his salary would afford. He has spent 50,000 Fb, coming from both union coffers and the Decasod funds, on various things, including losing a hefty chunk at the gambling tables at Royale Les Eau. Unfortunately, in two weeks he needs to come up with the money and he doesn't have it....
So, Drox has a problem but he also has a plan. He set up an exclusive high stakes game, 500 Fb table minimum. He has bought the banker's position (basically he's the "house" for the weekend) at Royale Les Eaux and plans to make back the 50,000 Fb in a weekend, using the other 80,000 Fb left in union coffers as his bank.