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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mythusmage" data-source="post: 2606310" data-attributes="member: 571">(Please note, this thread is more in the way of idea presentation. It can be played as is with a bit of work, but it's intended more to spark imaginations. Please keep that in mind as you read ... )Random Sidetrek: Journey Across PlainsPremise: This uses (The Mother of all) Encounter Tables from <a href="http://www.necromancergames.com" target="_blank">Necromancer Games</a>. The purpose is to see if I can get a (pseudo) coherent adventure out of it. Or, at the very least, liven up an otherwise dull trip.Situation: The party is on their way to a small riverside town They have just debouched from rolling hills and now face 5 days of travel across plains. Here now are the first day’s encountersDay One (Temperate Plains)Encounter One: 14,  932 (6)6 stirges, may be a fen or marsh nearby.Encounter Two: 02, 312 (7)7 coshee. Probably feral, or part of a patrol.Encounter Three: 99NothingEncounter Four: 21, 59Heat waveEncounter Five: 31, 585 soldiers, 2 2nd level lieutenants, 1 4 level captain.Ecounter Six: 68Nothing.The hills have finally given way to plains. East before the group stretches grassland, reaching as far as the eye can see. Up to the north and slightly east can be see a vague hint of marsh . Cottonwood and what might be bullrush. A small patch perhaps a few miles off. The way ahead of the party is clear.Travelling at a trot and walk the adventurers make good time. Until, that is, a number of flying animals appear in the late morning. They rise up out of the grass to the south. A despicable mixture of humming bird and bat with a mosquito like proposcis. With their appearance comes the metallic stink of clotting blood. The stirges (there might be six or so) are evidently not satisfied by their last meal and speed straight towards the group.When two have fallen to the swords and sorcery of the party the rest fly off northward. The odds have simply gotten too bad for the survivors.The party itself has some injuries, but nothing bad enough to require rest and healing. They continue on.A bit past noon, as the adventurers walk their horses, a band of dog--like animals appear before them. The dogs are heading east at a trot. An easy trot, but from their haggard look it would appear they’ve had occasion to move at a much faster pace.They give the group a wary look and a wide berth. The party can tell that these are not ordinary dogs. Could be cooshee, but elves are not known to travel these parts, and cooshee simply don’t travel without elven companionship. In any case all attempts to communicate with the animals is effectively ignored. The seven dogs (cooshee) are soon past and disappear into the distance.The rest of the day is uneventful. Herd animals off in the distance, a stray coyote hunting for rodents, that’s about it. Nothing major, nothing for the adventurers to concern themselves with. Evening comes, camp is set, and the group is settling down for the night when all of a sudden it gets hot. A torrid mass of air sweeps up out of the south, bringing with it the smell of burning vegetation and dry desert sand.The group gets rearranged for the new conditions and again settles in for the night.Around midnight, near as anybody can tell, men come up out of the night. Eight of them, all on foot. The leader is a hard, driven man. His two assisstants and the five soldiers they lead are tired and blown. They continue on at their current pace one or more will likely die of the exertion. And travelling by night as they are, injury is fairly certain as well.The leader wants to know if the party has seen any traitor elves. Or any traitor elf dogs. From his language it should be fairly obvious he hates elves. If the four are not forthcoming with information, or appear to be obfuscating, he will accuse them of being in cahoots with traitor elves. It won’t take much to arose his suspicions. If the party can convince him of their honesty (hard task) he will lead his men on into the night.Notes: Obviously, at any point in this day’s journey the group could get side-tracked. They might decide to check out the creekside marsh, actually communicate with the cooshee, or even decide to investigate the unexpected heat wave. Hell, they might even choose to join the elf hunters. Adventurers do have a habit of going off on tangents, taint much you can do about that. What happens next in such cases depends on GM creativity and possibly the roll of the dice.The four encounters were determined randomly, but I decided to connect the cooshee and the soldiers in some manner. Why would humans be travelling at night?There is a conflict between the humans and the elves. The cooshee are survivors of a clash heading back home to tell their friends of the calamity. The humans have sent out patrols hoping to catch the dogs before they can get home, and so keep news of the massacre secret for at least a few days longer. One such patrol being led by a damn fool so consumed by hate he has no consideration for the men under his command.Coming next, day two of travel across the plains.</blockquote>

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