All of my spells are 1 min/level it would seem, so we need to get in quite close. Then I can either invisible a scout and let them run for 4 mins, or I can do that, *and* alter self and join them. Anything else I need a full rest for to swap spells about.
Wait for dusk. Jareen and Grea close to 500 to 1000 feet. Cast invisibility on Great. She runs for the camp while he rejoins the group. She moves steadily through the camp and out. Just a quick sweep. What do approaches to the camp look like? Is there a ravine or ridge or outcropping of rock that we can use to get close?
"Let's get moving then Grea, we will use stealth to get close, I will make you invisible for 4 minutes, so you can do a quick scout. You must not attack anyone, even to defend yourself, or you will become visible again."
Grea and Jareen exit via the gate and try and keep the dunes between them and the bandit base. However, it is fair to say that Jareen isn't really built for stealth...
I guess Grea can try and assist with the Stealth check.
We are well paired anyway. With low light and distance we might be OK. If we know we're failing we'll stop 1000' out.
As the sky darkens, Grea leads Jareen toward the camp, keeping to low hollows between the dunes. She walks in a low crouch most of the way and urges him to follow suit. Sometimes she crawls. Finally she worms her way on her belly to the top of a dune and peers over the sand.
"If darkness falls before I come back, show a little light every few minutes from the city wall. When seven stars shine, then stop. I will not make it back tonight. If I don't I will meet you tomorrow at the gate where we entered the city."
Jareen nods understanding and casts his spell ( bluff roll earlier in case anyone has seen them coming to not appear to be using magic). "You have 4 minutes, go." he whispers.
Fortunately, Grea worked out the patrol routines of the bandits so the chances of the pair being detected, even with their relatively clumsy attempts at concealment, are quite low.
Female Human Percept +10, Sense Motive +3, Init +5 // HP 27/27 : AC 16 FF 13 T 16 : F +4 R +6 W +9 // Power Points 10/10
"Wait for me at the city gate. Stay low on your way back." The invisible Grea begins moving swiftly toward the bandit camp. Small puffs of dusty sand rise from her footfalls as she trots away.
Aubrey:
Cause I know you love spoilers! Survival to cover tracks moving at normal speed:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12
About 50 yards from the bandit camp Grea slows and walks more carefully toward the wall.
If the gate is open and uncrowded, she'll take that route. If not she'll go over the wall at a deserted looking spot.
Once inside the idea is to make a quick transect of the camp, looking for prisoner holding areas and leadership areas, a rough count of guards and their locations. Just one pass through the camp and out unless there's a chance to 1. skim in close to a prisoner she knows, or 2. drift close to Mr Blue Robes.
If Jareen is heading back, he'll have to make another Stealth check to avoid being seen.
Grea:
Spoiler:
In the dying light, Grea moves as quickly as she can without revealing her presence. She reaches the front gate, which is closed but apparently unguarded, and easily climbs it to land quietly on the other side.
The layout is fairly typical for a caravanserai - a large courtyard in the centre, with a covered area around the edge to shade it from the sun and doorways leading off to rooms. A large cage has been built in one corner, big enough to hold quite a large number of people - some people seem to be slumped in there. A few tents have also bee pitched in the courtyard - these look like accommodation for the bandits, probably the less senior ones. Some bandits swagger about, abusing some slaves who aren't confined in the cage.
You can try a Perception check to spot someone you know.
A large doorway leads into the tower that looms up at the far end.
Back in the City of Death:
Spoiler:
As night falls, Danet becomes more and more nervous. "We shouldn't be here," he keeps muttering.
So far there seems to be no alarm from the bandit camp, suggesting that Grea and Jareen haven't been spotted. The sun begins to slip beneath the horizon, painting the desert blood red. The empty city is eerie, shadows playing and writhing on the broken walls of the buildings.
Despite Grea's best intentions, Jareen is staying where he is for about 10 minutes. Either she'll get out fine in that time and come back this way, or she'll be in trouble and he can raise the alarm.
Perception 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21
Arakan turns on Danet with a weary sigh weighing heavy on his shoulders, "Would you just... shut.... up? I'm so sick of hearing you complain."
Jareen. Sitting out there, all alone, as the sun goes down. little does he know it, he's probably the safest of the lot.
Back at the City of Death
Spoiler:
1d20 + 12 ⇒ (5) + 12 = 17
As Arakan sneers at Danet, shadowy arms reach out of the walls to grab the half-elf. Shadows detach themselves from the walls and attack the adventurers.
"Gaaah!" screams Danet. "I f&**ing told you!"
The score above is the Stealth check of the entity/entities about to attack you. If your Perception checks were equal or greater than that, you are not surprised. Please roll initiative. Map to follow.
Grea:
Spoiler:
The gate is maybe 50 yards from the cage, but there are tents in the way so the route isn't entirely straight. There's maybe five slaves in the cage, but you can't see the two children Arakan and the others are so interested in. There are a couple of slaves wandering about outside the cage who you recognise from the village. You also can't see Mr Blue Robes, but their mounts are tied up outside the tower.
This is the gatehouse and immediate environs. I'm assuming you are holed up in the gatehouse while Grea and Jareen scout. The lighter grey is the walkway on top of the walls and the interior floor of the gatehouse. There are no doors and the "windows" are arrow slits. North of the gatehouse is dune leading to the bandit base. South are the ruins of the city. The wall is about 30' high and so is floor level inside the gatehouse.
Please place yourselves on the map.
To reply to Cahel's question, it's been a few hours since your adventures in the big palace tower.
Half-giant soulknife (gifted blade, soulbolt) 4 [ HP 41/41 (0 NL) | AC 13 Tch 13 FF 11 | Fort +5* Ref +7* Will +7* | CMD 20 | Init +4 | Perc +7 | Effects: ]
Aubrey:
Am I correct in assuming at least some arrow slits are low enough to be used from the floor of the gatehouse? If so, Jaryx will position himself by one to watch for Grea's return. I guess that would put him on the north wall of wherever the others gather. I will wait to post a specific location until they have made their selections.
Please give me your specific positions on the map, please.
Grea:
Spoiler:
The "lock" is a heavy bar. A person on the outside could lift it easily enough.
Grea slips inside the tower with no difficulty. There is a single chamber on the ground floor, with wooden steps going up. On the ground floor a couple of bored-looking guards - not bandits, they look too well-equipped and clean, but instead presumably guarding the visitor - lounge on the floor chewing on dried meat and idly bickering. Voices can faintly be heard from upstairs.
HP 27/29; AC 16 / T11 / F15; Fort +6, Ref +3, Will +9; Perc +11 Half-giant map Druid (Saurian Shaman) 4
death city dudes death death city dudes:
Cahel is likewise waiting to see where the others indicate.
However, in the interest of not dragging PbP along any more than needed, Cahel will be 1d2 ⇒ 2 squares from Arakan in clockwise:1d8 ⇒ 6 (SW) position, or the closest legal position thereto and with no wall separating us.
I believe we were in the tower, but i am not sure.
For Morthak's benefit, only I can edit the actual map - I just need you to give me a square. I wouldn't agonise too much about where you are, just pick a square that feels appropriate. Most of you have indicated a broad preference so just run with it.
S1 attacks Morthak
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7 to hit v Touch AC, damage 1d6 ⇒ 4 STR damage
Danet lashes out at the thing attacking Morthak with his stone-headed axe. It seems the stretch and tear the unreal fabric of the monster, but doesn't destroy it.
Danet attacks S2
1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14 to hit, damage 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8, halved as the shadow is incorporeal
We have an ongoing 4e DS campaign but due to real life pressures three of the players cannot continue. The discussion thread is here. So I'd like to recruit three or four new players for this campaign. We are not especially advanced in terms of the campaign - the PCs are 2nd level. At the moment we have two players remaining - a half-elf bard/rogue hybrid and a human wizard. If you are interested, please feel free to get in touch.
Hi trailjava. We've already got one thri'kreen and also have the leader slot filled. If you aren't wedded to your character concept we should have room. But we have all the bases covered now.
I wouldn't mind trying out a striker. I have never actually played 4th ed, but I do have the 4ed books and the 4ed Dark Sun books. I am vaguely familiar with the rules. If selected, I will put together a character right away. Any races you would recommend for the striker role?
Hi Kor - how familiar is "vaguely familiar" when it comes to 4e? I appreciate you haven't played it in anger before, but have you skimmed the rules, created some characters...? It's not a problem - most of the players are relatively unused to 4e - but I just want to gauge your understanding.
I have a good deal of 4e experience. I started playing at time of release, changing to Pathfinder shortly after the release of essentials if I recall correctly. I still have my books, which should include PHB 1,2 and I'm fairly certain 3, as well as a large number of other books I haven't cracked open in over a year. Bringing myself back up to speed on the rules should be relatively quick though it's possible I may still end up mixing Pathfinder and 4e rules on occasion if accepted.
As far as Dark Sun, my resume is less than stellar. I have a couple months experience in 2nd edition from quite a few years ago, and I regret to say the campaign is listed amongst my least favorites. While I won't go into details, I will note it wasn't the setting that was my issue. It is possible I have the Dark Sun books and have simply never opened them (definitely wouldn't be the first or last time for me to buy some books and end up shelving them, lol), but I don't believe I do. I want to say Dark Sun was released shortly before I quit, and most of my normal group never quite enjoyed that setting.
Seeing the desire for a striker, I'd probably select monk (if melee preferred) or sorcerer (if ranged preferred, and I have a basic understanding of defiling as a concept, but no mechanical or practical knowledge). I'd need to know the rest of the party to have a better idea, and I am open to suggestions.
Hi Xzaral, that sounds fine. Please go over to the discussion thread and we can talk about characters. Re DS, I'm really pretty new to it too, largely picking it up with 4e. It would be very helpful - but not obligatory - if you could pick up the 4e Dark Sun book as that contains a lot of character options. As for mixing up the rules - happens all the time.
Hello all. Due to life events, a player has dropped out of this game. Consequently, we are looking for a Defender to join the party. They are currently 4th level. Please note, this is a 4e Dark Sun game (I know it says so in the thread title, but just to avoid embarrassing misunderstandings). If you have an interest, please let us know. Many thanks.
I let a friend with whom i play 4e IRL know about this opening. I think he is going to pop in and ask some questions on what is allowed in terms of character creation.
Hi Xaimum. Dark Sun has quite a specific feel so sticking to some reasonably specific races and themes is important, although other stuff might be available. I understand that you are looking at the setting now. A genasi might be OK but I'd prefer you to have a look at the setting and seeing what comes to mind once you have.
I did quick search and found a Dragon Magazine (#396) article that gives Genasi, aka, half-elementals, a place in Athas. The Half-Elemental Refugee background works best. Here's the basic concept:
An escaped slave genasi made its way back to his home in thethe Silt Sea after freeing itself from its captors. Before he was captured, he was a young sand genasi who dreamed of reuniting the half-elementals and returning the world to the lush planet he heard tales about from the elders. He sneaked away one night, but was captured by a band of slavers shortly into his travels and sold as a pit fighter. Two decades later, he escaped and managed to find his old home. He told tales of how horrible the outside world was and how wished he'd never left.
The old man, however, was followed. His captors hired a group of slavers to track him. When they stumbled the hidden enclave, the slavers slaughtered the elderly and able-bodied, then sold the children into slavery. My character, earth genasi Piedro, ended up in as a pit fighter in (whichever city the PCs are currently in) for the past 6 years. His goal is to find a way to earn his freedom, exact revenge on his original captors, and reunite the scattered genasi to prevent them becoming the prey of the other races. He's currently as sellsword, trying to earn some pay and information on the slavers who took him and the other children.
Here's what I made: Piedro the half-elemental Fighter
I figured I should take it easy on the magic items, because of the setting and his background.
You need to be a bit careful about what you read. I'm no Dark Sun purist but Dark Sun is a relatively venerable setting, and people have different views about what "fits". Some of the 4e stuff set out in the campaign setting book and some of the later Dragon articles is really just trying to fit 4e stuff that was never in the original DS setting.
That said....
Athas is a place where primal elemental spirits are strong, so it is certainly feasible for a genasi to exist, coming from a bloodline in which these primal elements are strong. (Frankly, genasi is much more appropriate than minotaur - that really is a bit of 4e shoe-horning.) So I'm happy to run with it since you seem to be keen on the concept.
On the background.... No real problem with that. However, the PCs are currently not in a city but on the road between Urik and Balic, working as caravan guards, and currently in the middle of a fight. Piedro therefore needs to be a fellow caravan guard (it's the easiest way in) and turn up mid-fight.
I'll look at his crunch tonight - I'm currently at work without any books.
EDIT: OK, first off, you need to make a usable character sheet in Piedro's page. If you are away we may need to be able to run your character and that is basically impossible as currently set out. Have a look at Cahel's or one of the other characters' pages and see the sort of format you like.
I'm very interested! I'm a huge fan of Dark Sun going back to the 2e days... I'll have to dust off my 4e materials, however. If you can give me a day or so, I'll post a character concept.
Questions on the campaign: Where in Athas are you currently? Are you using the 4e timeline, or something before/during/after the Prism Pentad?
OK Nomad, let me know what you have in mind. What's good is an idea of what your character concept is in fluff terms - saying something like "mul fighter" doesn't get me going. I don't need a full character background, but a bit of a whiff regarding what they are about.
We are in the 4e DS timeline, so Kalak is dead but not much else has happened.
Please note, I tend to operate on a first-come, first-served basis. Xaimum is ahead of the game but doesn't have a full character sheet up yet.
I present Morthak, dwarf wild battlemind... actually a retooling of a character I played in Aardvark's short-lived Dark Sun PbP a few years ago. =)
Background, description and basic stats are in the profile. All of the choices are chosen. I'll flesh out the numbers as soon as I can, but I need to buy equipment still -- what's my starting bankroll?
I'm currently at my mum's so still can't really check out the PCs in detail. However, in terms of who's in - how about both of you? You both seem keen, one of you knows a lot about DS, the other about 4e, so it seems good to me. Please say hello on the discussion thread.
