SETTING
Building the transport requires dozens of engineers, spellcasters, and laborers. Each build team designs only one discrete portion of the transport, preventing anyone but the overseers from seeing the complete layout and learning its secrets.
The facility where the transport is built consists of several workshops surrounding a central courtyard, where the unfinished structure resides. Each workshop contains crates of machine parts or arcane grimoires, and just one shop is active each day. A single main office where overseers coordinate the transport’s construction takes up much of the northern workshop.
The Emir’s artificers spend the first day completing the transport’s interior. Many of the transport’s walls and floors were constructed on a previous day, but they have not been fitted together. Some of the artificers focus their efforts on assembling the walls into a finished structure, while others construct and animate the altar to hold fake vials of sun orchid elixir.
Interior layout, led by Temeera.
The first day is about the interior layout. Temeera is a soft spoken woman who is a scholar studying magical constructs. She loves to teach enthusiastic students, but often forgets to instruct her creations not to attack her pupils during a lesson.
* * *
Player's choice: Ruslo, Fuzzy, Lady
You think that you could start working with Temeera through the day and not antagonize her to gain her favor.
Listening to his companion, Apek holds perfectly still, except for his eyes tracking the food in front of his face and his nostrils flaring as he sniffs in anticipation.
Ranus tries to talk to Ishyal. She looks like a rugged enough type that she may not be put off by his own wilder ways. After introduction and a little chat he tries to introduce her to Apek. "Those Thuvian dogs are impressive, but have you ever met one of these tyranosaurs? Apek is an incredible fighting companion and well behaved for something that in the wild would surely eat us."
Ranus tries to demonstrate Ranus's self-control waving a piece of meat in front of him and cpommanding him to hold still.
"You really seem to understand how to handle an animal! We really need experts like you! Come ... I will introduce you to the trainees!"
The whole day Ranus has to work in the sun and train some of the guards to handle the dogs.
DAY ONE - GUARD BARRACKS
Day One -- Animal Training
* * *
1 Success:
Dylph can steal 3 of the treats Ishyal uses to reward the desert dogs.
You 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.
* * *
2 Successes
Ranus notices the handlers shooing the dogs away from a crate of chocolate.
Cargo manifests indicate that every crate containing chocolate shipped from Bloodcove and arrived in Aspenthar, where it received Prince Zinlo's seal of approval before traveling to Pashow. Each PC at the barracks receives a small amount of chocolate as a reward for their dedicated work. If the PCs wish, they 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.
* * *
3 Successes
Suna learn 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.
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Fuzzzy chatters and hums to himself constantly while he works, which makes his hat echo his words, and his owl hoot orders at him. Which makes Fuzzzy speak to his hat and his owl, and makes his hat echo his words and his owl hoot orders at him. Which makes Fuzzzy speak to his hat and his owl and makes...
"Oh! Hello! Have we met? You're doing fascinating work! Just fascinating!"
"Fascinating!"
Fuzzy, Lady Naysha and Ruslo all try to gain Temeera's favor.
You interact with Temeera and really are able to not antagonize her!
But she asks all of you to take a good look at the placement of the animated altar when ... it suddenly lashes out at you with a single slam attack ...
... but Lady Naysha as well as Ruslo can dodge the attack but Fuzzy is hit right in the chest so hard that he hurled against the wall.
Fuzzy is able to hide his injuries during the day.
DAY ONE - TRANSPORT WORKSHOP
Day One -- Interior Layout
* * *
1 Successes
Fuzzy,
you identify the altar that guards the elixirs, including all of its build points and defensive abilities. You also notice that Temeera ordered a few of the workers to take turns walking around the transport's interior in circles. She does not explain the reason for this strange directive.
2 successes, successful perception check
Ruslo,
You discover a secret, lead-lined compartment in the transport's back left corner. You also locate a small, inconspicuous “X” etched into a tile in the floor covering the secret chamber.
3 successes
Lady Naysha,
You learn the nuances of the animated altar's programming. The construct's commands automatically designate any creature holding a glowing vial as the primary target, and all other targets are ignored until the primary target is neutralized.
You also discover the “X” etched into a tile in the floor marking the secret chamber.
DAY TWO
AREA A: GUARD BARRACKS
Day 2 -- Boot Camp
Boot camp, led by drill sergeant Jaravo.
A towering Garundi man with a penchant for tall tales and flashy combat who often uses hyperbolic anecdotes and threats to strike fear into his trainees and any who question his methods. The other guards talk of Jaravo’s penchant for showmanship.
* * *
1 success
Suna,
you learn how the guards use dancing lights to communicate via signals in the sky. You learn which patterns will tell the convoy to halt and the escorts to disperse and search the surrounding area for hidden threats. While the dancing lights spell is the most effective way to replicate these patterns, you can also replicate them with other light sources.
2 successes, successful Knowledge local
Ranus,
you are popular and were able to join some guards on their night off, learning personal vices that the PCs 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. The PCs also observe several mysterious men and women tempting the guards with strong drink, drugs, and other indulgences. Though these scoundrels speak highly of Prince Zinlo and the lifestyle in Aspenthar, most of the money they throw around was minted in Bloodcove and Cheliax.
Dylph, who succeeds at a DC 14 Knowledge (local) check notices the source of the coinage. The PC also recalls that the settlement of Bloodcove is under Aspis Consortium control, and that the Consortium is based in Cheliax—together, these associations suggest that the mysterious figures may have Aspis ties.
3 successes
Dylph,
one of the convoy's guards is replaced by YOU! With one of you working in the barracks. During the convoy raid, a PC may replace one guard. If the PCs neutralize the second person who is a mage before he casts dancing llights, any distracted guards do not return for 20 minutes after being called away.
DAY TWO
AREA B: TRANSPORT WORKSHOP
Day 2 -- Deathtrap
A halfling trapsmith Lyshna oversees assembly of the primary deathtrap.
Lyshna is known to have a rather sadistic sense of humor. She delights in the pain of others and loosens up around PCs who accidentally or intentionally hurt themselves. This is well known to the engineers working on the trap.
* * *
1 success
Fuzzy,
You learn that there is a desert heat trap on the transport. It causes people in the area to take heat damage beyond what an Endure Elements spell can protect against. You know the Disable Device DC, and the locations of the two switches that must be disabled in order to disarm it.
2 successes
Lady Naysha,
You gain access to personal notes, which provide a +4 circumstance bonus on all Disable Device checks attempting to disarm the trap. In addition, you also find several lavish gifts and valuable luxuries, some emblazoned with the seal of Aspenthar's royal family.
3 successes
Ruslo,
You uncover weak points in the trap's ventilation network that allow you to disarm the entire trap from anywhere within the transport as a move action. Disabling the trap this way requires a successful DC 10 Disable Device or Use Magic Device check. This check can be attempted untrained.
DAY THREE
AREA A: GUARD BARRACKS
Day 3 -- Desert Path
Desert Path.
Enryo organizes the routes and scouting missions. He is constantly worried about his plans falling into the wrong hands and distrusts anyone without instructions from the Emir himself.
* * *
One Success
Suna,
You can identify the convoy's general route. With this information, you do not need to track the convoy through the desert, and the guards will not be able to notice you until you come within 60 feet of the transport.
Two Successes
Dylph,
You found an ideal ambush site along the convoy's path. You will have 1 hour of time to prepare for combat. You can lay an ambush to automatically receive a surprise round, starting 30 feet away from the transport. You also find a map in Varnic's bedchamber with observation points marked along the convoy's route.
Three Successes
Ranus,
you gain a reputation as a trustworthy scout among the guards. The guards react positively when the PCs appear in the desert, allowing the PCs to begin a surprise round from any position outside the transport.
DAY THREE
AREA B: TRANSPORT WORKSHOP
Day 3 -- The Hidden Entrance
Duciar, a Garundi man with dozens of piercings directs the team responsible for the transport’s outer trappings. He never uses a sentence when a word will do, and often instructs his workers with little more than grunts, gestures, and stern glares.
* * *
One Success
Fuzzy,
You discover the location of the transport's secret door, the only means of entering the inner chamber without teleportation magic.
Two Successes
Lady Naysha,
You identify which locks maintain the door's seal, removing the risk of disabling a decoy lock. You also find several broken lockpicks and scattered thieves' tools hidden near the door, suggesting that someone had secretly practiced picking each lock.
Three Successes
Ruslo,
You acquire a key for each real lock, allowing a PC to remove the chains as a full-round action without a skill check.
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OKAY! Lady Naysha, Ruslo and I did this...
BEFORE THE AMBUSH:
- Dylph is with the guards.
- Fuzzzy prepares dancing lights.
- Everyone else is at the ambush point
- We have three dog treats and chocolate which we can use to calm the dogs, or make them sick. If someone is good at handle animal we should give them the treats. If no one is then we should use the treats with the chocolate. Who wants to carry them? (Fuzzzy doesn't).
PREPARING THE AMBUSH:
- We know the route and found an ideal ambush point. We have 1 hour to prepare for the ambush. We automatically get to act in the surprise round and can start in any position around the transport (as close as we want).
- We know observation points along the route. When the transport is close Fuzzzy can use dancing lights to communicate with the transport. He will use the lights to tell them to halt. This will make them stop and some of the guards to go look around.
- We will have to fight guards and dogs to get to the transport.
- WE NEED TO TAKE OUT THE MAGE FIRST or he will call the guards back.If we don't the mage will use his dancing lights to call back the guards. If we do we will have 20 minutes before the guards come back.
GUARDS:
Free action: Reveal a guard’s embarassing secrets. The guard is staggered for 1d3 rounds. This only works once per guard.
DOGS:
- We have three dog treats and each of us have a piece of chocolate.
- Standard: Ranged Touch Attack: throw a treat at 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.
You can combine this with a piece of chocolate. Then the dog will be sick for 30 minutes.
- 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.
- We also know the dog’s command words. We can direct them with a DC 10 Handle Animal check. Is anyone good with handle animal?
TRANSPORT
- After the guards we can get to the transport.
- There are two switches that must be disabled to disarm the first trap. We can disarm from anywhere inside the transport as a move action. It is a DC 10 Disable Device check. Ruslo will do it. He also gets a +4 bonus on the check.
INSIDE:
- We know the location of the transport's secret door, the only means of entering the inner chamber without teleportation magic.
- There are two locks somewhere on a door (which door?) We know which is the right one and we have a key for it.
- We know that guards had to walk around the interior in circles but not why. We should do that.
- There is an altar guarding the elixirs. We know all of its details and defensive abilities but we weren’t told them. What are they? We know it will automatically attack any creature holding a glowing vial as the primary target, and all other targets are ignored until the primary target is neutralized. Someone tough should grab the vial we want. Also, we can maybe use this to trick it. Someone could cast light on a vial and use it to distract the altar?
- I think the altar has some chains on it? We can remove the chains with the key we have as a full-round action without a skill check.
- There’s a secret, lead-lined compartment in the transport's back left corner. Marked with a small, inconspicuous “X” etched into a tile in the floor covering the secret chamber. I think it’s in the same room as the altar??
And that should be it!
AFTER:
- Afterwards we need to tell out bosses that the Aspis are after the elixir and now about the caravan.
Proof:
- The PCs also observe several mysterious men and women tempting the guards with strong drink, drugs, and other indulgences. Though these scoundrels speak highly of Prince Zinlo and the lifestyle in Aspenthar, most of the money they throw around was minted in Bloodcove and Cheliax. They are connected to the Aspis COnsortium.
- You also find several broken lockpicks and scattered thieves' tools hidden near the door, suggesting that someone had secretly practiced picking each lock.
- Someone secretly marked a tile on the secret door with an X.
Meeting with Ziralia
After extensive planning the Pathfinders under leadership of Ruslo, Lady Naysha and Fuzzy have a good idea on how to proceed.
That evening, each of the Pathfinders receives a message, one way or another, from Lady Ziralia, asking you to meet with her at a kebab shop a few blocks from the workshop.
She makes arrangements such that your absence will not be noted by anyone at either the workshop or the barracks.
"I hope your reconnaissance went well. The convoy sets out tomorrow at sunrise. We have only this evening to make the final plans and preparations for our little... heist," she smiles slightly before continuing, "I have some funds for you, from the Emir, to purchase any last minute needs. I also have a few items that you may use for the day, though I'll need them back afterwards."
She hands over a satchel, that contains a large bag of platinum, as well as several other items.
The satchel contains 120 pp, an adamantine morningstar, a pair of eyes of the eagle, a horn of fog, and a vest of escape.
"You can distribute the items among you as you see fit. And you can buy whatever you need from the money I provided you. So, what is the plan?"
She looks to the group and raises one eyebrow.
"What plan?!"
"Good plan!" the hat agrees.
Apek quizically looks at Ranus as he hears his name. Sometimes that means Apek's supposed to show off his teeth or growl or something to help Ranus seem tough.
Apek obliges, opening his mouth wide and bellowing a good "Rawrrrr!"
"Congratulations! This sound like a fabulous plan. Have you thought about the items I provided you and what you wish to purchase with the gold that you have at your disposal?" Lady Ziralia asks.
"Do I like them?" the hat asks.
"Those villains!" the hat agrees.