ProfPotts' Legacy of Fire PBP

Game Master Alexander Scott

After all, only wizards need 8 hours of uninterrupted rest... everyone else just needs 1hr to prepare spells!

Clerics need 1hr meditation in a reatively peacefull enviroment at a specific time of day chosen during character creation. Sorcerers and bards need 8hrs rest and then 15min concentration. http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/magic.html

Bahram protests slightly and being pulled into the dirt, but relucantly goes along with it.

I may be in danger of rules-lawyering here, but the webpage you quote only specifies that wizards need 8 hours rest; it does not specifically state how much time bards and sorcerors need to rest (Although I agree, that it probably should be inferred as the same).

If that is the case, since I find it unlikely the Gnolls will let their 'slaves' have 8hrs of uninterrupted rest, our plans should probably assume that the casters will not have any spells, which means that sooner rather than later is probably a good time to stage an escape.

It looks like a distraction + assault is the way to go!

If you scroll down a bit you'll find a section labeled Sorceres and Bards, or you can look up pg 220 of the core rulebook...
But yes, we'll probably see no spellcasting untill were free of them.

Perception: How attentive are they to our group?

Checking to see how much attention the gnolls are paying the group of slaves Yousef sees the same as everyone else: the six gnoll guards are surrounding them all, spears levelled and ready, alert for any signs of trouble - only Ugruk is a little way off, at the edge of where the hill the town is built on starts to drop away, peering down at the Chelaxian he just hamstringed. At Ugruk's signal one of the six guards tosses over his spear (immediately drawing his scimitar and readying his shield in its place as he maintains his vigil with the other guards). Ugruk raises the spear as if to throw for a second time, but then pauses as one of the other fleeing Chelaxians rushes back to crouch down by his friend, struggling to stop the injured man's bleeding. Ugruk lets out a yipping hyena laugh, shaking his head (as if in disbelief at the man's willingness to forfit his own chance at escape), and turns back towards his troops, signalling for two of them to go and fetch the two Chelaxians. As for the third figure (the Chelaxian with the drooping handlebar moustache), Ugruk seems unconcerned as he vanishes out of sight into the crumbling buildings of the town's lower level...

...a moment later the eerie inhuman scream which the slaves have been periodically hearing echoes once more through the town, and Ugruk grins...

Ohh!...ahh... yes, his name is Arthur Ironguard...Sorry!...D-do you know him??

The robed man shrugs,

'Only by reputation... suffice to say he and I move in rather different social circles...'

Meanwhile...

As the two Chelaxian's are dragged back, Ugruk looks them over, then barks more orders to his troops,

... In response one of the guards drags the wounded Chelaxian away to the west (out of sight behind some more ruined buildings), and the other marches the second Chelaxian back towards the central citadel. Ugruk takes a moment to make sure the remaining slaves are as passive as ever (his gaze lingering a moment longer on Saul than on the rest) then grabs a full waterskin from the guards' supplies, takes a long drink himself, then tosses the remainder (now about half full) into the dirt in front of Yousef, with the comment,

As Ugruk then turns to follow the wounded Chelaxian and his guard west, the robed man steps away from Lavender and over to Ugruk. The two start to engage in what appears to be haggling...

... the haggling apparantly over, the gnoll and human both spit in their palms and shake on the deal. The human pulls two coin purses from his robes, weighs each in his hand, removes a few golden darics from one to the other, weighs again, then finally tosses the lighter purse to Ugruk. The gnolls catches it, hefts it himself for a moment or two, then tucks it into his belt, grins, then heads off to the west...

The robed man strides back over to Lavender, pulls his dagger, and cuts her bindings. Dagger still in hand he grips her shoulder tightly (thankfully not the shoulder with a fresh brand seared into it) and announces,

'You belong to me now, girl. Play nice and you'll get to go home... if your father or his guild-mates think you worth the price I demand, naturally...'

Since there's no mention of the coinage used in Katapesh (there's even a thread to that extent somewhere on this site I believe) I've plumped for the ancient Persian 'golden daric' for added atmosphere - in game terms, it's a gp. The local sp are 'silver shekels', and the local cp... well, what sort of adventurer ever needs to use copper pieces anyway? ;)

Summery of stuff: four gnoll guards now remain, the robed man is about to lead his new purchase (Lavender) back towards the central citadel (the battle market).

Maybee now is our chance? Nodding to Yousef and the dwarfs Bahrim turns his head a notch and calls out. "Hey Saul! I would'nt turn my back on these gnoll to much. I think they are admiering you backside!"

"Whaaaaatttt???!!!!" Saul belows. It's quite obvious Bahram's comment has sent him into a fit of rage. Dropping the rock in his hand, Saul picks up the large stick he was given by Keldar earlier and charges at the nearest Gnoll and attempts to club him over the head.

Rage:
Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9 +2 if Charge is effective.
Damage: 1d8 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14

Wow, talk about EPIC!

oh well, its do or die time

charge gnoll with club 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 101d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

looks like time to die

As Saul belows and charges, Bahram attacks with his stick as well.

Attack 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (14) - 1 = 13
damage 1d6 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1

Lavender's actions depend her new owner. She is unaware if the man is aware of her magical talents, but she sure as heck wishes he does not know this. If his knowledge is based solely of anything the gnolls said, she might be able to bluff him into thinking she is mundane, it is not like she has shown any magical powers...yet.

If she can pull off a Ghost Sound spell, without the man finding out (probably not, especially since he has her by the shoulder...) she will attempt this as she follows him away. Otherwise she follows him. If she can escape from this man later she will attempt to come back and assist, but for now she is obedient, at least until she can regain some spells...

If she can cast a ghost sound spell undetected:

If she cannot cast, she simply walks away with the man, shy tries to get a little more information from him...

So do you plan to ransom me off right away, or am I stuck in this retched place longer? Do you have a caravan or are we going to have to travel alone? I can ride a camel if need be...Y-you don't have to hold onto me like that, I am not going to run away

Cause I figure we will need it.

Initiative: 1d20 ⇒ 15

Where was that roll when I attacked lol.

Rashid also attempts to assault a gnoll with his big stick, charging straight at the closest one...

1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Clearly, the dicebot does not approve of our actions :-/

Now that surprise is lost...

Initiative: 1d20 ⇒ 6

Yousef squats to pick up the waterskin, then takes a drink. He is about to offer it to Bahram, but suddenly Saul charges a gnoll and then Bahram follows his lead. Suddenly, there is a flurry of activity as slaves and captors are going at each other. He can't believe the incredible luck of these gnolls. Not one has ever been taken by a surprise attack. They must be blessed somehow. It would be suicide to join this rebellion. Thanks for the distraction, boys.

Stealth 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

The young half-orc caps the waterskin and surreptitiously slides away from the fight behind some columns. (Here is where I get preemptively artistically creative without the DM's permission based on my high stealth roll) He scoots along the perimeter, planning on making his escape. Suddenly he stops. S!+*. I don't have enough water to make it outta here. I need to get that dwarf free. Maybe those other guys to so we can rescue that chic and get a reward from her family. I hope someone tells her her dad is dead before I have to. I don't want to do that. So he remains hidden but within range to observe the slaves and gnolls. I hope they don't get killed.

Initiative 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

Oh yeah...Initiative 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

Initiative: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Lavender basically just follows mystery Guy, unless something involving her happens

1d20 ⇒ 17 init

Oh... this is gonna' be painful... Who says you need pugwampis for bad luck..?

"Whaaaaatttt???!!!!"

Saul charges the nearest gnoll, waving his big stick over his head like a crazed man. Unfortunately, despite his bravado and anger, the harsh conditions have left the big badawi nomad as drained as the rest of the slaves, and he fails to rouse the inner fires which fuel his oft-used dervish-like battle madness. (Like all the other PCs, Saul doesn't have any of his 'per day' abilities at the moment. In his case, that means he's got no rounds of rage left. Although with the evil that is the dicebot it really wouldn't have made much difference in that attack anyway...) Even worse, the gnoll guards are far from surprised (although pretty intimidated) by his sudden rush...

...gnoll guards are surrounding them all, spears levelled and ready, alert for any signs of trouble...

... the gnoll Saul attacks lets out a nervous yelp as it sets its spear against the big human's charge: Saul rushes onto the spear, managing to impale it through his left side!Saul takes a perfectly average 15 points of damage which, with the 1 point already taken from the earlier branding, puts him at 16 hit points of damage total... Ouch...

With a spear sticking through him, Saul's own wild swing unsurprisingly goes wide of the mark, as the gnoll releases the spear, unslingling shield and drawing scimitar as he backs a pace away, somewhat in awe that the big human is still standing, despite the grevious wound he's just received. Saul is disabled and therefore staggered but, against the odds, is actually still on his feet!

Follwing Saul's lead (unfortunately before he sees where that lead has landed the big guy) Bahram lunges towards another of the guards. This one contemptuously sneers and plants the butt of his spear painfully in the foppish human's stomach. Bahram takes 2 points of subdual damage - after all, he's worth at least fifty golden darics as a slave and doesn't seem much of a threat... why waste money? Proving tougher than the gnoll gave him credit for, despite the pain Bahram lashes out with an unpracticed, but swift, stroke, catching his guard a glancing blow across the snout! The gnoll yelps in pain, his eyes narrowing as he very deliberately shifts his grip on the spear, moving the deadly, pointy, end into play...

Also joining in the attempted revolt, Keldar matches Saul by charging straight onto the point of a readied spear - the spearhead imbeds deep into the dwarf's shoulder with a spray of crimson, sending him crashing, still, to the sand-blown street of Kelmarane. Keldar also took an average 15, plus the branding, which is enough to put him on -1... and counting...

Plumping for the better part of valour, Yousef takes the opportunity to quietly, and without incident, slip from view... Ducking behind some ubiquitous rubble he crouches down to peer back and observe the unpleasant object-lesson in 'why not to attack your armed guards'...

So do you plan to ransom me off right away, or am I stuck in this retched place longer? Do you have a caravan or are we going to have to travel alone? I can ride a camel if need be...Y-you don't have to hold onto me like that, I am not going to run away

The robed man laughs a somewhat bitter laugh,

'Camels? A whole caravan? Healthy camels go for three-hundred darics in mighty Katapesh, girl... more than twice what I paid for you! Those of us who are forced to operate outside of guild approval can seldom raise anything like that sort of capital. Why, by Abadar's great golden balls, do you think I'm stuck here trading with these flea-biten animal-men? You think this is what? A lifestyle choice? You rich children are all the same, you...'

He trails off at the sounds of conflict behind them. Quickly turning, dagger raised and at the ready, he shoves Lavender behind him as he hisses,

'Keep behind me, girl - you're worth nothing to me dead.'

From the folds of his robes he draws forth (with his off-hand) a palm-sized spherical clay bottle with a short neck, stoppered and sealed, and holds it as if ready to throw...

Lavender is now both behind the man and not being held any more. However, without various cool metamagic Feats any spell she cast would be pretty obvious as he's standing right in front of her. If she had to guess, she thinks that the bottle he's now holding is most likely alchemist's fire (one of the cheaper products her adoptive father sells - although his come in beautiful painted pots illustrated with an evocative flame motiff... if it matters...).

A little slower to react, Rashid joins in the (suicide-)charge against the gnoll guards... But miraculously (praise Sarenrae!) manages to duck under the final gnoll's set spear, although throwing himself out of the path of the deadly point obviously disrupted his own aim as well...

Saul's attack was the trigger to the fight, but the gnolls used their readied actions to go before each of their attackers, so the initiative count is:
1. Saul's gnoll [who's already taken a five-foot step and readied an action again as he watches to see if Saul is going to fall over or not]
2. Saul
3. Bahram's gnoll
4. Bahram
5. Keldar's gnoll
6. Keldar (down and bleeding)
7. Yousef
8. Lavender
9. Rashid's gnoll
10. Rashid
11. The robed guy
phew!

Seeing the buisnes end of the spear on him Bahram backs away with his arms waving in front of him. Aparently droping his stick wich finds it's way tangling up the gnolls feet.

5'step back and using mage hand on the stick, hoping for a trip attack or a tangle effect. CMB 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (11) - 1 = 10 Bluff to try and hide spellcasting 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Yousef sneaks up to the robed man with his rock...

Attack 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17
Damge 1d4 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (1) + 2 + (3) = 6

...and bashes him over the top of the head with it. He makes eye contact with Lavender and mouths "Your move."

Yousef sneaks up to the robed man with his rock...

...and bashes him over the top of the head with it. He makes eye contact with Lavender and mouths "Your move."

WHAA!? Ohh...Thanks...

Depending on mysterious guys well being after the attack...

If he is still standing:

Lavender attempts to aid other to give Yousef a +2 bonus to attack...
1d20 - 2 ⇒ (15) - 2 = 13

If he is down...

Lavender trys to grab what she thinks is the alchemist's fire bottle, and aiming for a gnoll that has a bit of distance from the slaves, or at least one that is not engaged in melee with an injured individual, She lets the alchemist fire fly. Never trowing one before, and with the seemingly bad luck the others have, she crosses her fingers while the bottle is airborne...

Ranged Touch Attack:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
Alchemist fire? Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 2 Fire damage & 1 splash damage to hopefully a nearby gnoll or two...
Round two: 1d6 ⇒ 5 unless the target puts it out DC 15 ref save(+2 if rolls on ground)

If the bottle breaks when the guy falls she instead tries to search for
something useful, hopefully ranged weapons...
Perception 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

bleeding to death. death save 1d20 ⇒ 6
dc=11 and i think i get +3 from con, which means i stii fail

Sensing that it is a death-or-glory situation, Rashid continues to attempt to take down the gnoll in front of him!

1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12

...and fails miserably; the heat exhaustion is clearly getting to him!

Saul tries to remove the spear from his spleen... preferably without killing himself.

Mostly just trying to keep things moving along.

Gritting his teeth, Saul grabs the spear transfixing him, twists and pulls, wrenching the thing free with an indignant grunt.

I think he gets a free Intimidate check for that... plus now he has a spear! :)

Saul:Intimidate 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (19) + 14 = 33

The gnoll facing Saul stares at the big man, jaws hanging slack and eyes wide as it slowly backs away, clearly unsure if it's really a man or some impervious thing it's facing...

Now, taking some DM liberties with the Initiative order...

Yousef's rock smacks the robed man around the back of the head, causing him to stumble forwards, blood trickling from under his turban. The flask slips from his hand, but he still grips his dagger tightly as he turns on Yousef, muttering,

'Argh! You orc-spawned son of a diseased she-goat! I'll have your gizzards for that, swine!' and adding a quick aside to Lavender, 'Stay back, girl - this monster won't have you!'

Meanwhile, Lavender scoops up the flask and scans for a target. For a moment a unseasonably cool breeze from the north stirs the dust in the ruined town... Lavander and Bahram's gazes happen to meet...

Almost as one Lavender throws the flask at the gnoll menacing Bahram, even as Bahram flings out his hand to cast his spell. The gnoll glances down as he stumbles on the stick now in his path, but doesn't fall... he glares and Bahram and sneers... only to suddenly burst into flames! Screaming, the gnoll drops his spear and starts to run in circles, uselessly flailing his arms in panic. The gnoll poised to finish off Keldar points to Bahram and screams something,

... and promptly turns tail to flee, running yelping and yowling towards where Ugruk went. The gnoll already backing away from Saul joins him and... with true pack mentality... the gnoll confronting Rashid does likewise...

AoO for Rashid 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

1d6 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5 damage

... and Rashid tags him with a nasty whack across the flanks as he goes...

... the burning gnoll finally throws himself to the ground, rolling to try to get the fire out, but doesn't seem to be doing so well...

... Finally, the robed man lashes out at Yousef with his dagger, managing to open a cut across the half-orc's forearm 2 points of damage.

Keldar continues to bleed... :(

Saul let's out an inhuman roar as he grips his newly acquired spear and prepares to chase down the gnolls. He only makes it about a half step before the loss of flood drops him to a knee.

Still holding his recently acquired spear, Saul places another hand over his wound trying to slow the bleeding. "Dog-head got lucky... next time he not be so lucky." It's obvious to anyone looking at Saul he is significantly more pale than he was just moments earlier.

Attack 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
Damage 1d4 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + 2 + (4) = 9

Ow! The slash catches Yousef and he steps back briefly, looking at the cut. "Just a scratch! Is that the best you can do?"
Then he attempts to hit him again with a rock but misses. "Orcs don't have gizzards you idiot."

Rashid gives Saul and Keldar a worried look, then moves over to smack the prone, flaming gnoll with his quarterstaff...

1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

A moments hesitation is all the reaction Bahram shows as the gnoll bursts into flame, looking to Lavander he instinctively knows she had somthing to do with it.
Looking over to Laveder he sees the dagger wielding man threatening Yousef. Pointing his finger again he lifts a rock and floats it into the mans face, hoping to distract him so Yousef can finish him off.

Hoping for an aid another with that one... Either defence or attack, wichever seems more appropriate.

shiver... what was that? Could I know him from somewhere-

'Argh! You orc-spawned son of a diseased she-goat! I'll have your gizzards for that, swine!' and adding a quick aside to Lavender, 'Stay back, girl - this monster won't have you!'

...Lavender gives Yousef an impish grin from behind robed man's back Ohh Noo! protect me from that scary orc! As she pretends to cower behind his back, she grabs onto the back of the man's robe and pulls on it with all of her might...

Aid another attempt:
1d20 - 2 ⇒ (10) - 2 = 8

Apparently all her might is not mighty enough...

next round death save

Saul makes his way towards the robed man, spear head in hand and screams at him. "Run! Run little man, 'fore Saul shove spear in you, make guts spill on sand!!!"

Intimidate: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26 Maybe a circumstance bonus for all of the blood covering Saul and bloody spear held in a menacing manner?

"Run! Run little man, 'fore Saul shove spear in you, make guts spill on sand!!!"

The robed man's eyes open wide as he beholds the terror that is... Saul the Savage! He's already backing away as Bahram's mystically levitated rock swoops towards him, causing him to duck to one side...

"Orcs don't have gizzards you idiot."

... then twist to avoid Yousef's attempt to once more brain him with a (now bloodied) chunk of rubble...

Ohh Noo! protect me from that scary orc!

... shrugging off Lavender's pawing at his cloak he completes his pace away from the rioting slaves suddenly out for his blood, pulls a fistful of something from his robes and dashes it to the ground: a dazzling flash of light results...

Fortitude save DC 13 for Saul, Yousef, and Lavender

Meanwhile the gnoll which was burning is panting hard as he finally pats out the last few embers of burning fur and starts to push himself to his feet...

... at which point Rashid's improvised quarterstaff, swung two-handed, smacks the hyena-man upside his head: he crashes back to the ground, unconscious, with blood flowing from the nasty gash Rashid's attack opened in his skull.

Meanwhile... Keldar continues to bleed... :(

The sounds of gnoll yelps, yowls, and growls from beyond the ruined buildings to the west, as well as from the direction of the main citadel, start to grow louder; and somewhere down the hill that unearthly scream issues forth once more...

The downed gnoll dropped his spear nearby, he's also got a heavy wooden shield, a dagger, and a scimitar. His longbow's string was burnt through by the flames and the fletching on his arrows was also damaged. From the sounds of things you don't have time to get his leather armour off, or to conduct any more of a search... Unless you're keen to face Ugruk and the rest of the gnolls right now? Gnoll howls can carry pretty far, and a gnoll can cover quite a lot of ground if he runs...

Fortitude save:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Saul rubs his eyes before they readjust. He then bellows to the other prisoners. "Now our chance! Let's leave. Grab weapons if can use." Saul looks at the downed dwarf. "Saul would carry, but Saul not think he have strength carry dwarf. Saul hurt bad. Either someone else carry or leave here. Saul leave now though."

Fort save 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

"Aaargh! Sonovab***@! Yousef curses as he covers his eyes. Then steps back and listens, crouching and weaving.

Perception 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

"Yes! Quick! We need to get lost, right NOW! Grab the weapons and lets be off." Bahrim says anxiously as he surveis the battlefield. Bahrim scoops up the dagger for himself.

Seeing Keldar bleeding on the ground gives him pause in his haste to get away though. "Rashid! Can you help with the bleeding? Both Keldar and Saul need attention!

"Bah, Saul fine, tend to dwarf first. Saul make it, just... maybe... slower than normal."

Fortitude save 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

Lavender wipes her eyes and looks at both Saul and Yousef. Thanks guys... and makes her way back to the others, keeping pace with Saul and in case he needs a hand. Hey Mr...Half orc... umm, you coming? As she approaches the others and sees the downed Keldar. Lavender looks around for anything that could aid in getting Keldar out of the area quick and easy... anything like a tarp or broken down door or something...

Perception 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20

death saving throw DC=13. 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Rashid grabs the scimitar and shield, and then hurries over to tend to Keldar...

Heal: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

With Keldar stable, Rashid hoists him over his shoulder, and begins to look around frantically for an escape route - preferably in a direction leading *away* from the sound of approaching Gnolls...

"We need to get out of here, *now*. However, someone should grab that spear as well; how about you, Yousef?"

"Wha..f%&&! Where'd that guy go?" the young half-orc rubs at his eyes. Then he reaches for the spear. "Yeah, I'll take that." He looks at Saul, and the condition he is in. "I guess I'll lead."

"I guess I'll lead."

Eager to be out of the reach of the gnolls and theire master, Bahrim is quick to pick up on that offer. "Yes, please. Lead the way. If you could find us a safe route out of here I'm sure we'd all be gratefull."

Since it appears that Keldar is taken care of, Lavender instead casts detect magic and takes a look at the downed gnoll. not expecting anything but you never know who might have a cure light wounds potion or something...

Worth a try anyway...

Seeing Yousef blinded and Saul heading in the other direction the robed man takes a hesitant step towards Lavender, notes she's keeping pace with the big barbarian, swears under his breath, and (as one might expect) decides to instead turn and sprint back towards the citadel.

As Rashid recovers shield and scimitar then kneels to (quickly) staunch his fellow dwarf's bleeding shoulder, Bahram grabs the gnoll's dagger, and Yousef tries his best not to blindly walk into anything, Lavender incants and gesticulates over the poor, dying, gnoll...

The sounds of gnoll yelps and howls comes considerably closer...

Battlefield treatment administered, Rashid hefts Keldar over his shoulder, Yousef's vision returns and he runs over to grab the profered spear, and Lavender keeps staring at the gnoll...

Now hurridly organised, the debilitated, dehydrated, rag-tag group scurry as best they can after Yousef as he leads them around the east wing of the palace-like building (away from gnoll sounds), then south to where the hill drops steeply off. Below them the group can see where the town's main road continues to spiral down to the west, but immediately beneath them is what appears to be a large, mostly intact, building - a stately hall of some kind, constructed of sturdy whitewashed stone - smaller than the palace (and considerably smaller than the main citadel), but still over a hundred feet wide(where it backs onto the hill they're standing on), and nearly fifty feet deep(where it reaches the main road) in its centre, where it sports an impressive dome atop an otherwise flat roof. The two wings of the building are maybe two-thirds as deep as the centre. The building looks to be maybe three stories tall (plus the dome)... which means its dome is within what could well be a reasonable jumping distance...

To the east the hill is a simple fifty or so feet drop to the road below, with maybe a hundred feet of open ground to cross to get to the cover of the buildings further down the more gentle slope across the main road.

Further to the east, on the outskirts of the village, can be seen a fast-flowing river, crossed by single stone bridge next to the settlement's small warf area. A delapidated mill and a building with several smoking chimneys stand on the far side of the river.

The distinct sounds of approaching heavily-armed and annoyed gnolls get rapidly louder - it seems almost inevitable that the (relatively) slow-moving group are soon to be located by their hyena-man pursuers...

Jumping to the dome results in 1d6 non-lethal damage, unless a DC 15 Acrobatics check is made (then no damage). Anyone who cares to look can see the usual (for the local architecture) trap-door-style wooden roof-access hatches in the roof of the hall below you. Descending the hill to the east requires a DC 10 Climb check, but you move at one-quarter speed (or a DC 0 insta-death face-plant if you really want to jump down fifty feet...). Heading north or west results in a terribly uneven encounter with lots and lots of gnolls. You are standing next to the rear wall of the palace, but that'd be a DC 25 Climb check to ascend (it's well-made smooth stone blocks). Simple Perception (DC too low to bother with) tells you that, unless thrown off the trail somehow, the gnolls will be on you in no more than a couple of rounds.

DC 15 Knowledge (Engineering, History, Local, or Nobility) check:

Saul looks carefully as he makes his way towards the hil and climbs down, knowing that he has to be extremely careful in his weakened condition. It takes everything Saul has to put one foot in front of the other.

Come on, no one. Climb Check: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

Hill not ladder, corrected that.

"No! Saul, wait! Bahrim shouts desperatly as Saul makes to go for the 100ft of open country.
"The gnolls are too close! Please! We must make the jump!" He pleads with him, gesturing to the domed building. "It is the only place close enough for us to have a decent chance of hiding before they are upon us!
Putting his palms together as in prayer he tries to emphasice his point with his hands. It is obvious on his face he is sincere in his pleads. Don't be a fool! Please, don't be a fool!

"If we send you, Yousef and Keldar last over the edge. We can help your arrival and you can pass Keldar to us."

Edit: DM, I'm thinking an Aid another thing if we all help in catching Keldar and Saul so we don't kill them with the jump. Make sence?

Right before Saul takes off down the hill he stops and listens to the pleading of the other slave. He seems sincere to Saul listens. Besides, Saul knows he isn't a good thinker... It's often best to leave others for the hard thinking. Besides, he could barely stand, much less think straight.

Saul will jump when they are ready for him.

Athletics: 1d20 ⇒ 1

"I agree with Bahram, Saul - the Gnolls would shower us with javelins as we climbed down the hill..."

Taking a deep breath, Rashid moves over to the edge, and with a running jump, attempts to make it to the domed building...

Athletics: 1d20 ⇒ 7

He makes it, but smacks his face heavily into the side of the dome. 1d6 ⇒ 1

Fortunately, however, he provides a nice, soft cushion for Keldar, protecting him from the worst of it.

His ears still ringing, Rashid moves clumsily towards one of the roof-top trapdoors, wanting to get out of sight as quickly as possible...

Heh, may as well roll that non-lethal damage.

1d6 ⇒ 2

[b]"Alright, here goes."[b] Bahrim jumps to the dome.

Acrobatice 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

And lands gracefully, rolling to cuchion the fall. Getting up quickly he prepares to recieve Keldar and Saul.

Strength check for aid another 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2

And fails horribly to do any use in catching them.

continues to lay there