D&D 5E (2014) Al-Qadim Moving Through the Flame

[tglassy]

Harun sets off after Amina, almost able to keep up with her.

OOC: Dash Action and dash cunning action makes speed 90. Not as good as Amina’s 100, but respectable. Of course, that depends on how you interpret the Dash. It doubles speed, including modifiers. So if the first Dash doubles speed, then the second Dash could double it again, making his speed 120, and sustainable at that speed. DM?

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[Quickleaf]

"Trouble," is the acolyte's grim reply. She crooked a finger, indicating a bit of a circular motion around the whirlwind. "Keep that between us and the others. If it has a face, it's probably looking at them. We'll close in at speed, then slow down when we're closer to keep whatever it is from noticing us."

Then she was off, moving uncannily swiftly over the desert sand, leaving footprints spaced far apart.

(Basic plan - Move all out for several rounds to whittle that 600' down to something manageable, then switch to stealth...which halves speed...and try to sneak in closer.)

Harun sets off after Amina, almost able to keep up with her.

OOC: Dash Action and dash cunning action makes speed 90. Not as good as Amina’s 100, but respectable. Of course, that depends on how you interpret the Dash. It doubles speed, including modifiers. So if the first Dash doubles speed, then the second Dash could double it again, making his speed 120, and sustainable at that speed. DM?

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GM: Stealth checks: Let's do this! I'll say you can cover 440 feet quickly (i.e. closing to 160 feet away from the whirlwind/genie, just outside longbow range) due to it being night & the genie's attention focused on Salahuddin. At that point you'll both need to decide how close you're trying to sneak & each make a Stealth check, with a DC according to how close you want to get... DC 12 to get within longbow range (150 feet) DC 14 to get within shortbow range (80 feet). DC 16 to get within sling range (30 feet). DC 18 to get within melee range. Though if you move into melee range, you have only one round before the genie will be alerted to your presence – so only get into melee if you're wanting to make a preemptive strike or something like that. If you fail, you only make it to the range increment one less than you intended (e.g. if, while attempting to close to melee, you roll a total 17, you'd only make it to 30 feet away); at that point you have one round before the genie notices you...unless actions are taken to prevent it from doing so. If you fail by 5+, you only make it to the range increment two less than you intended (e.g. if, while attempting to close to melee, you roll a total 13, you'd only make it to 80 feet away); and you must choose a complication: The genie notices you immediately! A small pack of the strange hyena-like creatures you scouted have crept up on you and attack! You are caught up in a dustdevil! The ground gives way beneath you as you trigger a sinkhole! If you succeed, you reach your desired range increment and can stay hidden there, but advancing closer will reveal you. If you succeed by 5+, you may choose one perk: When closing to melee, you may opt to stay within melee without being noticed, using the whirling sands and uneven terrain to stay hidden. Once you've held your position for a bit, you may stealth forward even closer given a suitable distraction for the genie (you can close one range increment, e.g. from 30-feet to melee without any check, but if you want to close two or more range increments then you need to make another Stealth check). You precisely position yourself so that you have cover or some other tactical advantage that makes sense in the present context. You are alerted to any hidden threats lurking in the whirling sands. ---------- Movement and Speed: Yep [MENTION=6855204]tglassy[/MENTION], 90-feet per round for Harun is correct. Dash provides an instance of "extra movement", distinct rules language from haste for example which, "doubles your speed." Amina actually moves 110-feet per round (55+55), if I'm reading her sheet right. Assuming [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION] Amina is moving full tilt, not worrying about keeping pace with Harun... It takes Amina 4 rounds (24 seconds) to close those 440 feet, then she'll make a Stealth check (now 160-feet from the genie/whirlwind). If that succeeds and then it takes her about another 3 rounds (18 seconds) to close into melee range with the whirlwind/genie...assuming that's what you want to do. It takes Harun 5 rounds (30 seconds) to close those 440 feet, then he'll make a Stealth check (now 160-feet from the genie/whirlwind), and then it takes him about another 4 rounds (24 seconds) to close into melee range with the whirlwind/genie...assuming that's what you want to do.

 

[Shayuri]

The handmaid of the vizier closes in to shortbow range (80') before slowing and finding cover to wait behind. If this towering figure means to attack, she can close that distance in a heartbeat.

Amina stealth (including Cloak of Elvenkind) [roll0] or [roll1] with advantage.

(Amina's move is 55, with dash is 110...but it gets worse, because she has Cunning Action too. She can push 165' in a turn if need be. But she's not doing that at present. She will get ahead of Harun though, since it's only 1 round difference)

 

[Quickleaf]

Salahuddin contemplates the Al-Aeshmas words. He would give any token he could but this request might be beyond the power of a Sha'ir. This didn't even consider if he should. These djinn were banished for breaking sacred laws. Should he be so presumptuous as to forgive what the Great Caliph would not. Salahuddin thought of this as he questioned the Al-Aeshma.

"I would give you this but I do not think my words will pardon you or your brethren. I might be the Wind Called but this banishment was placed on the Al-Aeshma by the Great Caliph and his Lords of Air. Their power nearly rivals the Great Gods. How could one such as I break this imprisonment?"

"Six times six they sat in judgment over us," growls the Al-Aeshma, the night winds snarling around his silhouetted grey visage as his head - along with curving horns - inclines down toward Salahuddin. "Six times six the Lords of Air whispering into the Great Caliph's ear of our betrayal. A man refuses to bend the knee and he is called 'hero' or 'adventurer', yet one of us born of the breath of wind defies the Great Caliph and we are cast out until the pride of djinn and man are satisfied..."

"It is written in the Tablets of Destiny, O Wind Called, that the offense was made against mankind, and so the Great Caliph...in his infinite wisdom...required mortal man to forgive us. Without the pardon on mortal lips, we may never return to the Citadel of Ice and Steel as supplicants to receive the Great Caliph's exoneration."

 

[Thateous]

"Negotiations are one of my strengths, however, with a genie? I'll leave this to the more experienced among us." she thought as she pulled her hijab tighter. "Wonder if my gifts work on genies..." she pondered as she listened to the towering figure speak.

 

[VLAD the Destroyer]

Salahuddin shifts his eyes towards Sinjin who is standing in his usual position to the Sha'irs right. The Al-Aeshma was saying many things that Salahuddin could not be certain of their truth. He quickly looked for any sign that his valet believed the Al-Aeshma. He looked back at the djinn.

"If it has been written in the Tablets of Destiny then it must be so. I may do this for you but I must know that you do not plan mischief against the Great Caliph." Salahuddin holds up a hand to forestall any answer. "And before you speak I must ensure the truthfulness of your words. One of my companions is a follower of Hakima, she will know if you try to deceive me. Submit to her magic and answer some questions. If you are being truthful about your wishes then I will speak the words and pardon your transgressions."

Salahuddin pauses for a second letting his words hang in the air.

"Finally if I am to put my trust in you I will need assurance that you or your brethren will not move against The Great Caliph or the Lords of Air. I will need your name."

Salahuddin waits for an answer and fingers the rod slid up his sleeve. If the Al-Aeshma decided to attack he would be ready.

 

[Quickleaf]

"Trouble," is the acolyte's grim reply. She crooked a finger, indicating a bit of a circular motion around the whirlwind. "Keep that between us and the others. If it has a face, it's probably looking at them. We'll close in at speed, then slow down when we're closer to keep whatever it is from noticing us."

Then she was off, moving uncannily swiftly over the desert sand, leaving footprints spaced far apart.

(Basic plan - Move all out for several rounds to whittle that 600' down to something manageable, then switch to stealth...which halves speed...and try to sneak in closer.)

"Negotiations are one of my strengths, however, with a genie? I'll leave this to the more experienced among us." she thought as she pulled her hijab tighter. "Wonder if my gifts work on genies..." she pondered as she listened to the towering figure speak.

Salahuddin shifts his eyes towards Sinjin who is standing in his usual position to the Sha'irs right. The Al-Aeshma was saying many things that Salahuddin could not be certain of their truth. He quickly looked for any sign that his valet believed the Al-Aeshma. He looked back at the djinn.

"If it has been written in the Tablets of Destiny then it must be so. I may do this for you but I must know that you do not plan mischief against the Great Caliph." Salahuddin holds up a hand to forestall any answer. "And before you speak I must ensure the truthfulness of your words. One of my companions is a follower of Hakima, she will know if you try to deceive me. Submit to her magic and answer some questions. If you are being truthful about your wishes then I will speak the words and pardon your transgressions."

Salahuddin pauses for a second letting his words hang in the air.

"Finally if I am to put my trust in you I will need assurance that you or your brethren will not move against The Great Caliph or the Lords of Air. I will need your name."

Salahuddin waits for an answer and fingers the rod slid up his sleeve. If the Al-Aeshma decided to attack he would be ready.

Sinjin's face is a mask, eyes twinkling in the starlight, but jaw hardened into a grimace, his hand not far from the hilt of his scimitar. Salahuddin's towering valet assumes his stolid pose with skill, but it's clear from his slightly defensive stance he fears the Al-Aeshma. This genie is legend-made-real, even for a tasked genie such as Sinjin.

The Al-Aeshma gruffly chuckles, sand spraying with his breath, rolling across the surface of the dry riverbed, carrying waves of silt washing over you. "I have nothing to hide from the eyes of gods or men, O Wind Called," his voice echoes across the evening dunes. Blazing blue eyes squint to study Akilah for a moment. "I will never submit, but the hakima may cast her spell. There shall be no resistance..."

"But I will never swear to do no harm to the Great Caliph and his Lords of Air, for they have cast the first stone, and they I do not trust." There is a decisiveness even in the way the wind hisses around his horned head that make it clear that only an extraordinary argument or powerful magic would sway the Al-Aeshma's resolve.

GM: The Al-Aeshma voluntarily fails his saving throw on the next spell that Akilah casts.

 

[VLAD the Destroyer]

"I never said swear to not harm the Great Caliph or his Lords of Air. I do not expect you to trust them or like them. But they are my patrons and I the Wind Called. I cannot speak the words of pardon and have you attack the Citadel of Ice and Steel. I asked of assurances, but we may speak of those later. Let me ask my questions and perhaps we can come to an accord."

Salahuddin turns to Akilah.

"Vazier can you cast a spell to ensure he will speak the truth? I would greatly appreciate this."

 

[Thateous]

Akilah quickly cast's Zone of Truth, eager to witness these negotiations.

 

[Quickleaf]

[SECTION]Sinjin, standing a foot behind Salahuddin and Akilah, creases his brow deeply. Leaning over he whispers to his master and friend, "Alrriah Yusamma, I fear that trusting this Al-Aeshma may be a mistake. He may believe his promises of peace now, but do you trust a moment of calm during a sandstorm to hang out your laundry? What is to say he will not later grow incensed and forget his promises? When hot winds blow, they clear out the houses of the past." He quickly leans away as the Al-Aeshma looks on impatiently with blazing eyes.[/SECTION]