Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Atras" data-source="post: 4982393" data-attributes="member: 84936">The Floating Mines of Journey<img src="http://docs.google.com/drawings/image?id=sAdWesAU_8asVtAd34-BHjQ&w=600&h=600&rev=77&ac=1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> The Floating Mines of Journey Our heroes find themselves on guard duty at an annual local farmer's convention, taking a simple and boring task in between dangerous adventures. When they are sent to evict a drug-addled foreigner, they find that even the boring tasks can be rewarding, and dangerous. A short 4th Edition adventure for five players of level 5. Background Grathik, a Githyanki artist of some renown has nearly hit rock bottom: resorting to fooling adventerous and/or brave people into feeding his blood coral addiction. To do this, he is looking for a big score - the floating hunk of land called Journey. By removing the artifact, the Cloak of Soulbound Resistance, worn by the drug lord Valda, the tower that sits atop the largest blood coral mine will topple, leaving the mines to whomever is well equipped to empty them. Grathik has already prepared some of Valda's men for positions of power, as well as hired a group of former prisoners to work in the soon-to-be-opened mines, he just needs the current authority in power. Players Introduction You have still to be fully recognized as a major force in the area, but as long as the jobs and the money keep coming in, you can wait for a real chance to show the world that you are destined to be a group of heroes of legend. Of course, sometimes the jobs are just pathetic, like today's: Keeping the locals at the annual farmer convention from getting too rowdy. Two gold a day, with rooms in the largest tavern for five days will pay the bills, and there really isn't risk of anyone getting hurt. Joghost's Annual Farmer's Convention is an exciting time for the locals: there are livestock competitions (Farmer Bettencourt has won the best looking sow competition every year for the last twenty years, but has always come in second or third in the egg-laying chicken contest); there are plowing contests, limited to 4 oxen teams only; there are rides for the kids, and vendors of all sorts of items for the whole 5 day event. The event is timed at the end of harvest-time, so most farmers are present with carts of food to trade or sell, and the town has the benefit of Journey's Passing the day after the convention finishes. Journey is a medium sized earthmote that circles the surrounding 100-mile landscape at a regular interval. No one remembers if the convention was timed as it is because of Journey, or if Journey's Passing was just lucky timing. Journey was said to have been ripped out of the ground over 100 years ago, and has been circling the area ever since. There are around 600 people who live on the island, and they trade in ore harvested from the small mountains on the island and some rare plants that grow especially well on the floating land. You are welcome to trade with them, and there are likely adventures to be had if you take up with the island after the convention, but your job is to keep people safe at the convention, starting 5 days before, and lasting until Journey's Passing. The first two days passed without incident, the third day was the drinking festival - so removing a few drunks was no suprise. Yesterday, a githyanki of all things, had to be escorted out of the convention for starting a fight - something about a customer not paying what they agreed to for a caricature. You remembered him from the day before as well, he still smelled of ale, and slurred his words, it's not often you see a githyanki in a farming community like Joghost, and even less common to see a githyanki artist, let alone a drunk githyanki! To say he stands out in your memory is a dramatic understatement. He seemed harmless enough, and didn't put up a fight as you escorted him out, and you were assigned to guard his artist stand at the convention until he was allowed back in after closing. While he cleaned up, he engages you in conversation: Encounter 1: Meeting Grathik  "I see you are not accustomed to such... low work. As you must know, my people have explored the universe, sailing the Astral Sea, earning a reputation for conquerers. I can see much more in you than farmer's guards."Grathik is an upfront man, his tongue loosened by too much drink. He thanks the players for their work in town, and admits that he was in the wrong when he nearly started a fight. He explains his situtation as this:He grew up the third son of a well-respected Captain, but he never had much of a mind for military matters. Instead, he focused on painting, and was known as quite an artist among his people. However, he battled with his place in society, never feeling a connection to his military minded family, and so he connected with drink and drugs. Now an outcast from his people, he works in the mortal realm scraping by a living doing protraits and some commisioned work.Much of this is true - however he is an expert liar, and it takes a DC 27 Insight check to see that his drug addiction is not the whole reason for his outcast status - he was trading in drugs which got him sent away. He is also not poor, he lives simply, saving his coin for a big score.He implores the players to help him when Journey arrives - he was cheated by a drug dealer who lives in a tower on the edge of the earthmote, and while he gets by, he could be a wealthy man if this drug dealer, named Valda, would either pay him the 5000 gold for the landscape of the Astral Sea that he painted (A History check of 15 reveals knowledge of this painting - 5000 gold is a low price for this famed piece of art) or give it back. He tells you that the painting was given, but neither the gold nor the "other compensation" was given - he was lucky to escape with his life. If you can make this Valda pay, or reclaim the painting, he will give you 500 gold.  Conclusion: You are working the convention for its final day, as Journey comes into sight. Get paid your 10 gold for guard duty, and Journey comes into sight before sundown. Encounter 2: Skill Challenge Get to Journey  You must find a way to get to Journey and find your way to the leaning tower. This is a short skill challenge that helps steer the rest of the adventure. Each player must gain a success to count for 1 group success. After 1 group success, the players move to Part 2, having a found a way onto the Earthmote. Allow the players to make as many checks as they want to learn more about the Tower. If they gain 3 successes in part 2 before 3 failures total, they succeed in the challenge, and are able to avoid fighting in either the Tower entrance or the mines. If they fail the skill challenge, than any approach will force a battle.  Part 1: Getting to the Earthmote<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Arcana - devise an obscure levitation ritual </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Diplomacy - hire a ride to the island </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Thievery/Stealth - stowaway a ship to get up there </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Endurance/Athletics - work with various farmers to move goods - lose a healing surge, but give all other party members +2 to part 1 checks. </li> </ul>Part 2 - Find information about the area<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Streetwise Easy DC - learn about drug-like nature of Blood Coral - it is crushed and inhaled and gives the user +2 to Reflex and resist 2 to all damage for 5 minutes. After that, the user gains Vulnerable 3 all and -5 Will and Fort until they take an extended rest.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Streetwise Hard DC - Learn about Valda - the man took posession of the Tower after it was abandoned when it started to tilt. He has a magic cloak that he never removes.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">History - Learn that the mining of blood coral led to the tower's tilting - it was sold shortly after the first shift, and the mines were supposedly closed. This also opens up the Hard Streetwise check.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Insight - Learn that the mines are still active - digging up Blood Coral.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Thievery - Watch the guard patterns to see an easier way in.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Arcana Moderate DC - The tower is held up by magic.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Arcana Hard DC (available only after hard Streetwise)- the magic is associated with the cloak Valda wears - he is soulbound to the cloak, which allows him to make it resist falling off the earthmote.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Nature/Perception - The earthmote is unstable, and a significant shock could cause it to crash down.</li> </ul>Once the players have gathered information, they can either attempt to enter the Tower through the direct route (or sneak around to gain entrance if they succeeded in the skill challenge) or by going through the "dormant" mines. If they have succeeded in the challenge, they are able to avoid workers in the mines. Encounter 3a: Mines  Level (Party level +2) consisting of dwarves and kobolds with humans. Encounter 3b: tower entrace  Level (Party level +2) consisting of guardian constructs and a human mage and 2 dwarves Encounter 4: The Leaning Tower of Journey - Steal the Cloak or Kill/arrest its owner.  Fight/confront Valda (level 7 solo controller). Every round he calls for 2d4 minions to assist. Valda takes a -2 to all defenses when wearing his cloak. If the party negotiates with him to get the painting, he inhales Blood Coral and attacks as they try to leave. Encounter 5: Escape Journey's End As the earthmote falls to the ground, you must battle the miners and guards that blame you for the downfall. Move terrain 1d6 squares in a random direction (1d4: 1=N, 2=E, 3=S, 4=W) as players make their way to the airship ports where people are being evacuated. This is a moving battle, through either mines or overland. Use fallen trees, dislodged mine debris or mining equipment as traps, +5 vs Reflex. The Earthmote should be collapsing from the end, near the tower. Resolution Should expose the Githyanki as a con artist and drug addict, not to mention potential drug lord.Blood Coral - it is crushed and inhaled and gives the user +2 to Reflex and resist 2 to all damage for 5 minutes. After that, the user gains Vulnerable 3 all and -5 Will and Fort until they take an extended rest. Ingredients:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Leaning Tower - Valda's HQ <</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Blood Coral - Mined substance that caused tower to lean, also motivation for Grathik</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Con Artist - Grathik</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Journey’s End - the Earthmote Journey crashes to the ground <</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Inebriated Githyanki - Grathik</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Cloak of Soulbound Resistance Valda's item that keeps his tower standing</li> </ul>Leaning Tower is the scene of the battle, at the edge of an Earthmote called Journey. Like it sits at the End... Also, the final battle brings the moving earthmote crashing to the ground, Ending Journey.Con Artist - go for double meaning - painter at a convention and Githyanki who gives false information to get the heroes involved.</blockquote>

Verification