Advantages gained during your investigation that could be used to aid in your attack on the convoy:
- You have three of the treats Ishyal uses to reward the desert dogs. The PCs can throw a treat as a ranged touch attack targeting a dog’s square (AC 5). If the attack roll hits, the dog spends its first round eating the treat, unless it has already taken damage during the combat. Alternatively, a PC can use a dog treat as supplemental material component, which increases the DC of any enchantment spell that specifically targets animals by 2.
- You have chocolate from the guard barracks. You can use the chocolate to poison the dogs during the encounter by throwing it along with a treat. A dog that eats a PC’s portion of chocolate gains the sickened condition for 30 minutes.
- You know all of the desert dogs’ command words and develop a rapport with the beasts. These command words allow the PCs to direct the desert dogs’ actions with a successful DC 10 Handle Animal check.
- You know about the small secret compartment marked with "X" in the transport building, near the altar.
- You know that the animated altar automatically designates any creature holding a glowing vial as the primary target, and all other targets are ignored until the primary target is neutralized.
- You know that the animated altar has the following characteristics: hardness, construct traits, darkvision, terrible saving throws, mediocre armor class, pretty good HP, 10 ft reach, two slam attacks plus grab, the constrict ability, and a faster speed than an average construct.
- You know about the desert heat trap built into the transport, and have enough information to disable it from almost anywhere in the transport with a DC 10 Disable Device or Use Magic Device check, which you can make untrained. You also have additional information that grants a +4 on that check.
- You learned how the guards use dancing lights to communicate via signals in the sky. You learned which patterns will tell the convoy to halt and the escorts to disperse and search the surrounding area for hidden threats.
- You learned personal vices of some guard that you can later use against them. By revealing a damning secret or weakness, as a free action, a PC can inflict the staggered condition on a guard for 1d3 rounds. This ability only works once per guard.
- One of you who infiltrated the guard barracks can replace one of the guards in the convoy.
- You know exactly what route the convoy will take through the desert, and have found an ideal ambush spot along the way. You can easily go there and arrive more than an hour before the convoy, to have time to prepare your ambush.
- Because you've gained reputations as trustworthy in the guard barracks, you can walk right up to the convoy and intermingle with the guards and dogs, starting your ambush with a surprise attack from anywhere you want, outside of the transport building.
- You know exactly where the hidden door to enter the transport is, which locks and chains surrounding the transport are decoys, and which are the real locks that you'll need to open to get in. You also have keys to those locks.
