I like the idea of transplanar hyper-elemental storms being sent by, or disguising, malevolent beings trying to breach the city's defenses. Genius! Thanks [MENTION=6798775]Ath-kethin[/MENTION]!
Now that I'm getting a better feel of the City of the Jann (more elemental ultra-mercantile jann, planeshifting, hidden, labyrinthine, wondrous, material & ethereal, dark side of guest hospitality), I think it's time to envision some potential encounters for my players...
So I'm thinking of two 2d10 encounter tables, one for Material Plane and one for Border Ethereal, with some overlapping entries... What would be interesting and apropos here?
I'll take a first stab at it... using these probabilities as my guide...
Very rare (2-3 and 19-20) 6% chance
Rare (4-5 and 17-18) 14% chance
Uncommon (6-7 and 15-16) 22% chance
Common (8-14) 58% chance
[SECTION]
Qaybar, City of the Jann (Material Plane) Encounters (2d10)
2 Brotherhood of the True Flame (see sub-table) – this entry is an ongoing threat in the campaign
3 Invisible stalker sent by an NPC
4 Jann infighting
5 Jann duplicity (see sub-table)
6 Sandstorm (Arabian Adventures p.82) blankets the city, horns sound as gates are sealed, corresponds with ether cyclone on Border Ethereal
7 Wondrous fruit tree (see sub-table)
8 Minor Elementals (see sub-table)
9 Talking animals (see sub-table)
10 Janni* (2d6)
11 Wondrous merchants (see sub-table)
12 Al-Badia (see sub-table under High Desert)
13 Pearl City emissaries (see sub-table)
14 Thieves (see sub-table)
15 Ogrima* bazaar guards (3d4)
16 Labyrinthine streets
17 ?
18 ?
19 Genie
20 DM’s choice / Roll twice[/SECTION]
Here's a sample sub-table entry for "Wondrous Merchants"... I used the Sane Magic Item Prices PDF as a price guide... And [MENTION=6798775]Ath-kethin[/MENTION] I added you former PC Barack in memoriam, hope you don't mind!
[SBLOCK=Wondrous Merchants (d6)]
1. Sassan Mukri, jaded male
janni*, has marvelous animals for sale, including: 7 songbirds claim to be polymorphed royalty but one claims to be harem guard (10 gp),
mule who lies he’s a polymorphed mage (25 gp),
saluqi* (50 gp), “giant” and “dwarf”
camels (permanently enlarged/reduced) (100 gp),
elephant (200 gp) with palanquin optional (5,000 gp),
war camel* (400 gp),
bloodhawk (600 gp),
griffon egg (2,000 gp), young
hippogriff learning to fly (2,500 gp), petrified terracotta
giant spider (5,000 gp), and a
pseudodragon named “Timaar” (15,000 gp).
2. Pardis Jang-Ju, absent-minded female
janni*, distills fruit into potions (see DMG p.187 & Sane Magic Prices), specializing in
potions of dreaming* (which she charges only 100 gp for). Also sells hookahs (25 gp), her own book “Jang-Ju’s Herbarium of Zakhara” (75 gp) and
dreambliss* (# gp).
3. Honest Yazdan, fast-talking male
janni*, deals in contraband and smuggled goods: jellaba with hidden inner pockets (25 gp), book entitled “Meditations on Imix: Writings of the Tenth Circle” (50 gp), smoke grenade (100 gp, DMG p.268),
spell scroll of Nystul’s magical aura (125 gp), forged safe passage papers from the Emir (250 gp), spring-loaded concealed dagger wrist sheath (250 gp), forged signet ring Arcanium of Jafar al-Samal (500 gp), map allegedly depicting the labyrinthine streets of Qaybar accurately (750 gp), golden furnery urn of the usurper Malik Hakiziman allegedly holding the efreeti’s ashes (2,500 gp), recipe for
oil of liquid star* (5,000 gp), and poisons (DMG p.257).
4. Barack al-Jazil, polite Zakharan
ogre mechanician with
6 helmed horror bodyguards, has mechanical marvels for sale: clockwork toy like a brass monkey with cymbals (50 gp), magnifying glass (100 gp), clockwork messenger pigeon (150 gp), music box (200 gp), masterwork lock DC 20 (250 gp), spyglass (500 gp), map to an alleged
manual of golems (750 gp),
spell scroll of animate objects (750 gp), wind-up rogue
monodrone and
duodrone (1,000 gp),
dimensional shackles (3,000 gp), and a
folding boat (10,000 gp).
5. Ozymandias, a
mercane* with 4
xorn bodyguards, was known to do brisk business with the efreet; he specializes in unique magical items of war: book entitled “Account of the Wind Dukes of Aaqa” (100 gp), recipe for making silvered weapons (1,000 gp), sentient
sword of vengeance with special properties (1,000 gp), adamantine shamsir (2,500 gp), “dancing sword” proficient in Perfomance that is actually a
flying sword (2,500 gp),
wand of the war mage +2 (4,800 gp), map to an alleged weapon cache in the Great Dismal Delve (5,000 gp),
necklace of fireballs w/ 6 beads (7,680 gp), and a
staff of striking (21,000 gp).
6. Marinj the Poet, a planewalking human
bard (VOLO) guarded by 2
maelephants*, deals in stories and songs: book entitled “Fourfold Furnaces and Fires Terrible” about the Lower Planes (50 gp), dwarven songsmith’s seal imbues magic item with “song craft” minor property bottled (100 gp),
spell scroll of enthrall (125 gp),
spell scroll of compulsion (325 gp),
spell scroll of awaken (650 gp), a poem so moving it will makes statues weep (750 gp), bottled siren’s song as per a harpy with disadvantaged saves for males (1,000 gp), True Names of the seven magmin musicians (1,500 gp),
hookah of veiled meanings* (2,500 gp), and a poem to gain passage on Captain Soot’s
Ebony Queen on the Plane of Fire (2,500 gp).[/SBLOCK]
[SBLOCK=Ogrima (reinterpreted from AQ1 Golden Voyages)]
[/SBLOCK]
[SECTION]
Qaybar, City of the Jann (Border Ethereal) Encounters (2d10)
2 Brotherhood of the True Flame (see sub-table) ?? – though an ongoing threat in the campaign, not sure if it fits here
3 Invisible stalker sent by an NPC
4 Jann infighting ??
5 Ethereal Hazards (see sub-table)
6 Ether cyclone (DMG p.49), corresponds to sandstorm on Material Plane
7 Ethereal treasure (Leomund’s secret chest)
8 Minor elementals (see sub-table)
9 Ethereal animals (see sub-table) Memedi from KARA-TUR??
10 Janni* (2d6) patroling Border Ethereal
11 Illusionborn/Dreamborn (see sub-table)
12 Ether circle (see sub-table)
13 Apparitions & Ghosts
14 Thieves (see sub-table) with etherealness
15 Foo dogs* (2)
16 Labyrinthine streets
17 Nightmarish monsters (see sub-table; night hags, nightmares, succubi, phase spiders) ??
18 Court of Shattered Statues (medusa, 2 basilisks, 4 cockatrices, charmed veteran with stoneskin)
19 Genie
20 DM’s choice / Roll twice[/SECTION]
I cracked open the AD&D
Guide to the Ethereal Plane and tried to pick out creatures that were native (N) or dwelled in the Border Ethereal (B) & fit the themes of the City of the Jann. I noticed some patterns...
[SBLOCK=AD&D Ethereal Guide encounter table]
[/SBLOCK]
Animalistic Predators: These include the ebon tiger (MYSTARA) and memedi (KARA-TUR).
Celestial Guardians: These include the shedu and the foo dog (KARA-TUR / PLANESCAPE).
Intangible Undead/Skeletons: These include the thought eater (technically not undead), the plasm (also technically not undead, from MYSTARA), and ghosts.
Nightmarish Monsters: While the AD&D version only lists phase spiders, the 5e MM includes night hags, nightmares, and succubi as nightmarish monsters that can be encountered in the Border Ethereal.
Petrifying Monsters: Basilisks, cockatrices, and medusa are all listed. While in 5e their Ethereal connection is removed, I liked the image of a court of shattered statues floating in the mists, governed by a medusa with her pets.
Really Weird Obscure Monsters: These are things like the cerebral parasite, dharculus, dhour, gingwatzim, magran, nathri, nethling, rabbiun, tween, and xill. Many are from PLANESCAPE, and they tend to look tentacular, insectile, ameobic, or sci-fi bizzare and seem like they'd fit better in a Dark Sun or Cthulu type setting.