A Fistful of Koban |
The night falls on the desert, and you keep riding towards the Whispering Canyons. It's 3 hours before dawn when you arrive there. The half moon illuminates massive walls of sandstone, eroded by millennia of constant winds that blow on the area. The wind passes through clefts and cracks, creating eerie sounds. The desert elves say that it's the spirits of the dead that whisper, and certainly the Canyons have seen many deaths.
Thiss way says Pissbucket in a very low voice and getting off his mount. We need leave horse now. They ain't good on rocks.
He then starts to lead you towards a crevice to the East of the Canyon, and then down a rocky pathway that descends towards the bottom of the canyon. Suddenly he stops, and whispers Firsst patrol there pointing at a place where the pathway makes a curve. You can see a distant fire in that direction, at about 200 ft.
Do a Perception check, and Stealth if you want to approach unnoticed.
Thelnyss |
Thel nods at Buckets words. He quickly looks for some cover to sneak up behind and then turns to the party, whispering. His eyes are bright and exited, his grin wide and all the anxiety from earlier is gone.
"What do you think ? Shall we try to bypass them or dispatch of them swiftly ? I have some poisoned arrows just for this occasion... Lets hope noone hears the noise if the guns start blazeing... I'll just follow Tal and take a look real quick, be back soon."
He fetches his bow and arrows and follows Talured into the darkness...
perception 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29
stealth 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (12) + 15 = 27
If this still counts as a dessert then I (and everyone else!) gets +2 on Stealth, Perception and Initiative =)
Embrianna |
Knowing she's not the stealthiest of the group, Ember will follow last. Lagging a bit behind the others to give them time to act in case she missteps and makes too much noise.
Stealth 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10 +2 if we add Theyl's bonus
Perception 1d20 ⇒ 5 +2 if we add Theyl's bonus
Grymblade |
The sneak thief got down off his trusty horse and tied its reigns loosely in case the steed needed to bolt to save its life. He eyed the lizard man with blatant distrust.
Intimidate - 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29
If you are leading us into a trap or I think that youll give us up at any point then my knife will find your neck. Take heed. I do not usually warn my prey.
Sense Motive - 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (13) + 13 = 26
He'll guage ole Scales before replying to the group.
We kill everyone we see from here out. We cant afford to leave any enemies on our back trail. We should surround the patrol and ambush. When the first one falls make your move.
Stealth - 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (14) + 13 = 27+2 for Thels bonus
perception - 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30+2 for Thels bonus
As they melt into the shadows Grymblade is very impressed with how his pals move as silent as the mooons rays on the chaparra.
...well is except for Ember...that woman could wake the dead...
he chuckled to himself and moved to flank around the patrol motioning to Mordechai to follow him as Thels and Boss had split west.
A Fistful of Koban |
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
While Ember and Pissbucket follow more slowly and not so silently, the rest of the group is able to sneak down the path unnoticed. Everyone except Ember is able to see four people sitting close to a campfire. Two of them are sleeping, while the other two, a short figure wearing a cowboy hat and a man with a scale metal armor and sword, are awake. The short one is cutting a piece of wood with a small knife while talking to the armored one.
...darned coyotes, that's what they are. I don't get why the chief would surround himself with thieves and bandits.
Oh, like you aren't one, right? replies the other one.
What! I take offense to that, did't they teach you manners in the Capital? Pete the Giant never killed or robbed anyone.
Sure, sure, so the Marshal is just put a bounty on you for what, your charming conversations?
That AND because of all the families I ruined. Married ladies just can't get enough of ol'Pete here.
Taking advantage of their distraction, Thel and Boss position themselves behind a group of rocks to the west of the fire, while Mord and Grym flank the patrol on the opposite side. You are now circling them, just outside the light cast by the fire, at about 60 ft of distance. Between you and them, it's open ground.
@Thelnyss: this isn't really desert terrain, but mountain terrain, so the bonuses can't apply while you are in this part of the canyon.
You also notice, while approaching the patrol, that there is a large bull horn beside the fire, and a small barrel with a red X painted over it.
State your actions. You are in a circle, at 60 ft from them, while Ember is still on the path at 120 ft.
Grymblade |
The half elf whispers to Mord.
They have a signal horn I think. Im gonna disappear and grab it. You'll know soon after when to strike.
Grym will reach into his pouch, pull forth the Potion of Invisibility and quaff it. Cautiously moving in, he goes straight for the horn.
Stealth - 1d20 + 13 + 20 ⇒ (4) + 13 + 20 = 37
He'll then attempt to swipe the horn without notice and slip it into his Bag of Holding.
Sleight of Hand - 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21 = Perception DC to Notice
A Fistful of Koban |
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
The horn is now inside Grymblade's bag, and nobody seemed to notice that. The two guards keep discussing.
Why do you joined him, anyway? You aren't in this for the money, I know that asks Pete to the man in armor.
You wouldn't understand it. Slate is not a bandit. He fights for a just cause, against an unfair king. And we might be this close to put an end to this sensless war.
Sounds to me that he just stepped on the wrong set of toes, and now is playing the "fighter of the freedom" role just to save his ass.
Why don't you tell that to his face? replies the other bluntly. I'd love to see that.
For what? You know you can't touch him now, not with that wierd sphere of his...
Grym, you are very close to them, no more than 15 ft, and just beside one of the sleeping men. The other one is on the opposite side of the camp fire.
Embrianna |
Ember continues to move up slowly, about a half move a round to give the others plenty of time to get ready before anyone hears her coming. She is under no delusions about how stealthy she is.
A Fistful of Koban |
The hammer is indeed an earthbreaker.
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 131d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
... the sphere is our chance for victory, and a bloodless one at that. Too many people have died already.
Whatever, I just my share, that's all says Pete. You don't need to convince... Hold on, whose footprints are these? Pete spotted Grymblade's tracks in the sand, but doesn't see him or the missing horn.
You all have the surprise round to act, then roll for Initiative in case you want to attack them.
Embrianna |
Initiative 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
Surprise round
Ember continues to slowly move up, still trying to give them time to decide what to do. She pauses again when about 90ft out, listening for any sounds of a fight yet.
Grymblade |
The half was very, very surprised that the man could notice a different set of footprints than his companions in the middle of a camp at night no less ...That man has eyes like an damn owl ...
He struck at the helpless sleeping man beside him figuring that he might finish him off. He cursed having his prints spotted as he knew he could have killed the man outright with enough time.
Sleeping man's Dex is considered 0 and Grym gets a +4 attack vs Prone plus sneak Damage
Attack - 1d20 + 5 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 5 + 4 = 17
Damage - 1d4 + 1 + 2d8 ⇒ (2) + 1 + (4, 7) = 14
Initiative - 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20
As his knife plunged into the man's chest; Grym appeared in the camp with a wicked grin on his face. This is exactly the kind of scenario that he lived for.
Thelnyss |
Think fast Pete...
Thel rises from behind the rocks in and fires a poisoned arrow aimed at Pete. As his heart sings he swiftly reaches for another poisoned arrow to ready his second shot. The hunt is on!
Attack roll: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15 Damage 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Poison DC: 13 initial: unconsciousness for a minute
frequency: 1/min for 2 min - unconsciousness for 2d4 hours
Initiative 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19
edit: Is pete the one in armour or cowboy hat ? The last conversation he appears to be the unarmored guy, but at first he is referred to as the "giant" ... I'm aiming for the potential gunslinger if there is any doubt (cowboy hat).
Boss Talured - "The Savage Six" |
Feeling the tension building, Talured's intuition takes over and he rises to attack as Thel nocks his first arrow...
Initiative Roll: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29
Attack Roll: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
Damage Roll: 1d10 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
Attacking the remaining sentry that is sleeping.
A Fistful of Koban |
What footprints? These are just ours.
Yeah, right, maybe I'm just being paran- says Pete, but it's interrupted by Thelnyss arrow that gets him in the stomach. He makes a surprised face, and an instant later he falls face down in the sand. His hat goes into the fire, starting to burn. Fort Save 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9
Meanwhile, Grym's sudden appearance and Boss'charge put the sleeping guards out of their misery.
The remaining guard, very confused, quickly unsheaths his sword, facing towards Boss and thus turning his back to Grymblade. Damn you! Initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Initiative
Boss
Grym
Thel
Ember
Guard
Embrianna |
Trusting that the men have everything under control, Ember keeps an eye on the Lizard to make sure he doesn't try anything funny now that we have reached some of Slate's men.
Thelnyss |
Not wanting to waste another perfectly good arrow, and with the close proximity to his companions, Thel decides to close the distance to the remaining sentry. He draws his shortsword on the way, its clean metallic edge glittering in the campfire light.
Sleep tight little man, you might actually live to see the sunrise..
So much for your senseless war my friend -
Move action to close 30 ft. drawing the shordsword as a part of it. The bow remains held in the offhand. Another move action to close another 30 ft, preferably ending up in a flanking position or with a clear lane to the remaining guard next round.
A Fistful of Koban |
Sorry for the delay, was really busy
Between Boss' blade and Mord's powerful kick, the guard drops on his knees and then ceases to move. Except for Pete, who is snoring, everyone on the site is dead.
A quick examination of the camp and the bodies reveals the following things:
2 banded mail armors
2 studded leather armors
2 masterwork longswords
1 fully loaded volcanic pistol (use the same stats of a revolver, but has a capacity of 10 rounds)
7 metal cartridges
an handful of rations
and a small barrel, about 2 feet long and 1 wide, which appears to be completely loaded with gunpowder.
Before you, the path interrupts, and there are several crevaces in the Canyons. Wind and dust pass through. The way to Slate's camp is probably one of these, but which one?
Boss Talured - "The Savage Six" |
...walks over to the powder keg, rest his hands on the top of it and smiles at the rest of the group. Well I have a few ideas for how we can use this bad boy! We could make one hell of a entrance, one hell of a distraction or (looking at the canyon ridges high above) one hell of a cave in! Either way it's gonna be hell!
Thelnyss |
Thel moves quickly to tie up and gag Pete, in case he fights off the effects of the poison (DC to escape: 27, DC to burst 24). He then quickly scans the camp, seeing a few things of interest (and some scary things, he wasn't quite sure he liked the smile on Tals face when he looks at the gunpowder keg). He picks up the the strange gun, thinking back on the last time he held a firearm in his hands ...
Ember, I think we got them all - you can come over here now. he throws a glance at the still smiling Talured Before someone blows us all to the skies..
Embrianna |
Waiting a minute for the men to take care of business, Ember will then walk up escorting Pissbucket and take in the scene before her.
"Nice going there fellas. Hope ya'll don't mind me hanging back, but you've probably figured out being quiet isn't something I do too well."
"Allrighty now, how about you tell us which of them paths will lead us to Slates camp?" This last bit is said to Pissbucket as she looks off into the distance at the crevasses.
Thelnyss |
It would be a nice souvenir and backup, but if someone of you wants to use it in combat I can pass
"I can see if I can find some footprints atleast, that should give us an indication on which path that has seen most recent travel. Personally, I hope one of our friends here could tell us - but I'll take a look."
With those words Thel gestures towards the snoring man and the lizard. He then takes of to check out the paths - being extremely careful not to destroy any footprints or other signs of use.
Survival roll to check out the first 100-200 feets of the paths and try to determinate how and when people have been travelling on them: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13 (+2 extra if it counts as tracking, an extra +2 if it turns into a desert again :P)
Grymblade |
The half elf looked through the pile of spoils with something close to disdain.
...no gold? doesnt Slate pay these men?..
He nodded to Thels as the man moved out to search for tracks and sunk to haunches beside sleeping Pete.
We have another option beside tracking prints to the camp if Thels cant find any.
He pulls the signal horn from his bag and holds it up.
We just need to convince Pete here to tell us the correct signal and we could lure a group of his men here and ambush them. This will prevent us from taking on the whole camp. Thoughts?
Boss Talured - "The Savage Six" |
...recognizes Thels attempts to track and joins in the effort...
Aid Another attempt at the Survival Roll: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13 (+2 to you Thel.)
"You just hold on to that heater there Thel. Never know when you'll be in a tight spot and be havin' a need to sling some fast lead. I'll just stick with my jewel here. It's been mighty reliable to me over the years. We gots an understandin' ya see, I keep it nice and oiled and it don' jam up on me like some of those other hunks o' junk I have seen."
A Fistful of Koban |
Pissbucket kept his mouth shut for the whole duration of your ambush, but as Ember drags him down, near the fire, he starts hissing and biting the ropes. Lemme go now, pleasse! They gonna kill me if they saw! Me bring you here, now lemme go!
Thelnyss finds very few sets of footprints, mostly going from the camp to one of the openings in the sandstone walls.
Thelnyss |
Thel returns after the slightly disappointing scouting - atleast with Talured's help they managed to find some footsteps. He gestures towards the opening in the wall.
"There are a few footsteps leading in that direction - but they are far to few to be trusted with any accuracy. My vote is on finding out what our sleeping friend here knows ... "
Grymblade |
The half elf sat on his haunches idly spinning one of his knives in his palm.
Dont move too fast there Pete. We'd sure hate to have to stick you again. Well, not really but you get the picture. Tell us what you know of Slate and his camp and just maybe you'll see the sunrise. Which cant be said for your pals.
Intimidate - 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13
A Fistful of Koban |
Oh, s$@!... I knew this was going to happen... Pete gets up slowly, still dizzy for the sleep poison. Look, just let me go, alright? I'm just here for the money... Not unlike you. The camp's right there... he points at one of openings in the rocks. Follow the pathway, you can't miss it. Good luck with his men, there's 30 at least. He then looks around, seeing all the other guards dead. Poor sods, but I don't want to end like them. A revolution's just not worth it.
All of a sudden, everyone can hear a distant gushot, though you can't make out from where did it come from. Seconds later there's another one.
Grymblade |
Grymblade grimaced at Pete's assumption of the group and he almost threw a knife right into the man's soft throat just for voicing it.
No Pete, we're very much quite unlike you. There aint enough coin in all of the Noose to get us to join up with a revolution that'll see alot of innocent folk get killed...
The distant gunshots stayed his hand however.
It could very well be that Ember. We need to move and fast. What to do with these two? We can't leave them behind and we're getting to a point where we risk them giving us away.
It was pretty clear from the flashing knife what was on the half elf's mind.
Embrianna |
Ember nods at Pete as she sees the knife flashing in Grym's hand. "May as well slit his throat now. Though we had a deal to let Pissbucket go. Just leave him tied up and by the time he works his way free it won't matter what he does."