To remain at the height of fashion, one must visit the House of Metege often, if not regularly. This impeccable clothing store and haberdashery offers only the finest goods that are always individually crafted for each customer. But what secrets lie behind the façade?

Background for the DM

The House of Metege sells fine apparel of all kinds, from hats to shoes, and from silk shirts to fur coats, for both men and women. If also offers accessories and personal items, such as jewelry, cologne, and cosmetics. The House of Metege concerns itself with the customer's overall appearance and also offers hairdressing and other grooming services for both men and women. The House of Metege caters to wealthy customers with a discriminating sense of style, but it also provides advice for those clients whose tastes don't quite match what they can afford.

Metege, the haberdasher, has established himself as the leading authority on matters of fashion and personal style in the city, and indeed the whole region where his sprawling shop is located. Needless to say, Metege is hardly the typical merchant. Besides being successful, widely admired (and nearly as widely envied or resented), Metege is a gnome with a reputation for energy and single-minded tenacity. Local tales say Metege began his career as a common peddler selling wares made by his own hand out of a backpack. Through sheer hard work and determination, say the tales, Metege built his business into the respected institution it is today. This tale is largely of Metege's own invention. In fact, Metege is a semi-retired adventurer who could spin many true tales of derring-do. Metege built up his business by carefully investing the profits from his adventuring career. For reasons of his own (which will become obvious in a moment) Metege has chosen to keep his true past hidden.

Metege's role as an arbiter of good taste and as a trusted advisor on all things related to personal style places him in a unique position to observe the rich and powerful in his city. Both he and his employees pick of a steady stream of useful political, economic, and even military information, and Metege passes it on, discreetly, to some of his other clients. The DM can decide whether Metege's espionage activities are noble or simply mercenary. Perhaps Metege passes his information on to the local government, which in turn uses it benignly to keep the peace and to detect any undue foreign influences. Or perhaps Metege is a foreign spy, gathering information as a prelude to war. He also may sell what he knows to the highest bidder, fueling bitter and deadly rivalries among the noble houses.

The House of Metege also has another sideline, and a tawdry one by any estimation. Trusted clients rely on the House of Metege to help them simply disappear for varying periods of time. For a fee, a client can receive a well-crafted disguise and a new public identity (usually one well below the client's usual social station). For an extra free, the client also can purchase the services of a double, who will go forth to perform the client's usual daily activities. This allows the client to effectively be in two places at once. The service is quite popular with bored spouses in the city, who send their doubles off to do their daily errands while they slip away to their secret assignations. Other clients of the House of Metege use the service to confuse their business rivals. In any case, Metege finds that his role as a purveyor of disguises and false identities helps his espionage activities immensely, and it also puts him in a position to influence or blackmail some of the most powerful families in his city. Again, the DM can decide what spin to put on this aspect of Metege's business. The old gnome might simply be making some extra money from his particular areas of expertise, or he might be planning something more sinister. Or perhaps the House of Metege is merely a front for a guild of thieves or assassins.

The doubles Metege employs usually are bards or rogues who simply act their parts with the benefit of a disguise Metege provides. However, Metege also may use spellcasters who in turn use disguise self or alter self spells, or even doppelgangers or other shapechangers.

About Metege

Metege began his career as scout and guardian for his home community of rock gnomes. His post being largely honorary, Metege was obliged to supplement his meager income through hunting and trapping. He sold most of his pelts and meat in a neighboring human community. Metege quickly learned that he much preferred the thrill of the hunt (and of the kill) to the tedious job of safeguarding his fellow gnomes. He also learned that he preferred cold, hard cash to the gratitude of his peers and the blessings of his elders. Several different versions of Metege are presented below, in keeping with the various ways you might want to use him in your campaign. In any case, Metege keeps his true past a secret, and he finds that the guise of a hardworking gnome merchant who stays focused on matters of style and taste thoroughly obscures his more nefarious activities. No matter which version of Metege you choose, customers buying their clothes at the House of Metege meet an affable fellow with an air of refinement and a person who is utterly unpretentious despite his obvious wealth and his exclusive clientele. Metege has a dark side, however, and in most cases, that is the real Metege.

This version of Metege represents him as an adventurer turned merchant/spy, but not necessarily as an evil or dangerous person. The listed alignment is neutral, but this version could just as well be chaotic good or neutral evil. In the former case, Metege is likely very picky about whom he allows to use his disguise service, and he most likely refuses to help anyone deceive a spouse except in extreme cases in which a spouse is abusive or obviously mismatched.

As an evil character at this stage, Metege is more likely to operate as a front for a group of thieves or assassins. His intimate knowledge of the city's wealthiest people (right down to their measurements) makes him a key link in all manners of deceptions and chicanery.

In any case, this Metege tends to avoid combat. If forced to fight, he tries to keep his distance and use ranged attacks. He relies on a cadre of guards for protection. His complement of guards contains mostly human fighters of level 3 or so, but also wizards of similar level. Depending on his other activities, he might have a few rogues or bards on call as well.

Here we see Metege as a person who developed a taste for cloak and dagger activities fairly early in his career. This is a much more deadly Metege, but one still well suited for his double life. (He still has many of the same skills as the previous version, but his rogue levels make him more formidable in a fight.) His alignment is neutral, but this version could just as well be or good or evil, as noted above.

In a fight, this Metege still prefers to keep his distance, but he's not afraid to get in close if he has to, especially if he can deliver a sneak attack or two. He uses his Tumble skill to avoid dangerous foes or to set up sneak attacks, as the need arises. His complement of personal guards contains mostly fighters, but possibly also rogues and bards, as noted previously.

This version shows Metege as an efficient killer as well as an entrepreneur and spy. Metege remains the affable merchant and retains his business acumen, but all that is merely a screen for his dark side. The listed alignment is neutral evil, and this fits him best. He is utterly without compassion or mercy, but he is neither prone to self-indulgence nor overly devoted to acquiring personal power or maintaining a sense of order. As presented here, Metege is best used as the leader of a secret gang of assassins, spies, or thieves (or perhaps just as the accomplished front man for such an organization).

The Metege presented here is utterly fearless in combat, though he is capable of realizing when he is in over his head so that he can do something to escape. He prefers to begin a confrontation with a long negotiation (the better to size up the opposition and perhaps to set up a death attack). His personal bodyguards include fighters of around 7th level, and a collection of fellow rogues and assassins, plus a spellcaster or two.

The Setup

The PCs might become familiar with the House of Metege without realizing what's really going on there for quite some time. After all, it seems just like a normal business. But any of the following situations might cause the PCs to take a closer look.

• The PCs receive invitations to a fancy ball (or perhaps to a costume ball). If they have made friends with a wealthy or noble NPC, the invitation might be strictly social, or the PCs might be asked to provide security or to guard a particular person. If they accept, the PCs are told that they must acquire proper attire for the affair, and they're advised to visit the House of Metege, which is the absolute best formal outfitter in town. At the House of Metege, the PCs are fitted for suitable clothes (at masterwork prices), but only after answering dozens of questions about the affair and their role in it. If the PCs balk, they're told that the House of Metege could not possibly serve them correctly without understanding things from the PCs' own perspective. After all, personal service is what has made the House of Metege famous. (These questions are, of course, asked as smoothly and diplomatically as possible. If all else fails, the person attending them notes that those who sent them here fully expect to have the PCs let the House of Metege experts in on whatever is going on, and he or she also mentions that discretion is a part of the service.) The questions from the staff may prove innocuous, or they may serve to allow Metege and his thief or assassin associates to evade the PCs and successfully kidnap a guest or steal something during the event. (Metege would set up a clever ploy for covering his own business so that it evades suspicion, of course. He has far too much to lose if his business is compromised, and he'll stand down from any plans if something goes awry.)
  
  
• The PCs visit the House of Metege, where they meet a boisterous young rake who insists upon treating the whole group to a round of drinks at a swanky tavern nearby. The PCs may find themselves getting their new acquaintance out of trouble when he (or she) insults someone or claims to be insulted and a brawl ensues. Later on, the PCs meet this person again, and he or she seems to have no clear recollection of their meeting. In fact, the PCs have met one of the doubles Metege supplies. Canny PCs might make Spot checks (use the DC needed to discover the original disguises, -5) to note differences between this person currently in their presence and their friend from the previous incident. The PCs may think they've spotted an imposter, but in fact they have discovered the original. The person in question probably won't want to explain the situation.
  
  
• The PCs are hired to guard or shadow someone, and their quarry leads them to the House of Metege, where the PCs briefly lose track of the subject while he or she is fitted for a new suit of clothes. A double replaces the subject, possibly leading the PCs astray. The original may have decided to evade the PCs for a time, or perhaps Metege has abducted the original. Or perhaps the original is secretly a member of Metege's organization of thieves, spies, or assassins, and he or she wishes to get the PCs to provide him or her with an alibi.
  
  
• The PCs are hired to locate a missing person. During an exhaustive search, the PCs discover that the subject visited the House of Metege two days before disappearing. In fact, the missing person vanished then, and a double impersonated the subject before vanishing as well. The subject may have decided to flee the city, or he or she may have been kidnapped.

Visiting the House of Metege

Viewed from the street, the place has an air of understated elegance. It stands in the city's business district and is surrounded by humbler buildings. The description below assumes that the PCs visit the place during a weekday, when the local merchants are all open for business.

A peek into a lower window usually reveals workers busy crafting clothes or shoes. All the workers seem keenly alert, and someone is likely to give a smile and a wave to anyone peering in. The upper windows show only carpeted hallways running around the building's outer perimeter. Anyone ascending the stairs gets a hearty greeting ("Welcome to the House of Metege") as the footmen open the doors. Regular customers are always greeted by name unless they are disguised.

Beyond the double doors lies a comfortable sitting room with a crystal chandelier, a pair of marble fireplaces, and several extremely comfortable couches and chairs. Customers are expected to enter and sit at ease until an employee can wait on them. Most clients don't have to wait long for service, but refreshments are provided anyway, as an extra courtesy.

A PC's visit to the House of Metege might go something like this.

A veritable army of employees swings into action at Metege's command. Characters who come to the House of Metege on business other than getting their personal images revamped probably will get revamped anyway (and receive a bill for a kingly sum) unless they quickly and firmly refuse the service and state their true business.

About the Authors

Skip Williams keeps busy with freelance projects for several different game companies and has been the Sage of Dragon Magazine since 1986. Skip is a co-designer of the D&D 3rd Edition game and the chief architect of the Monster Manual. When not devising swift and cruel deaths for player characters, Skip putters in his kitchen or garden (his borscht gets rave reviews).

Penny Williams joined the roleplaying game industry as Game Questions Expert for TSR, Inc. in the 1980s. Since then, she has served as RPGA Network Coordinator, PolyhedronNewszine editor, and Senior Editor and Coordinating Editor for the RPG R&D Department at Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Now a busy freelancer, Penny edits for several game companies and runs the online playtesting program for Wizards products. When not enhancing the cruelty of the deaths PCs will suffer at the hands of designers, Penny puts up jam, works jigsaw puzzles, and tutors students in math and science.