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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mikeawmids" data-source="post: 7921793" data-attributes="member: 6776411">Chapter One: Sultan's ClawThe Legacy of Fire adventure path opens as the party travel into the desert. They were approached in Solku by a gruff old man called Garavel and hired to accompany him to Sultan's Claw, an oasis in the shadow of an ancient, withered tree.Each PC has been provided with a riding  camel for the journey. To the surprise of all, the beasts are possessed of uncharacteristically pleasant dispositions. Nadiyya names her camel Blaze and its attitude (randomly determined by rolling 2d6 on the Reactions table) is Cooperative. Misfar's mount is Uncooperative and he has named it Geminara, after a former lover with a similarly disobliging nature. Zain has named his Sonny and it is Friendly. Fuk has not bothered naming his mount. Mirroring its rider's indifference, the beast is Neutral.Misfar spots a column of dark smoke rising from  beyond the next dune. Nadiyya and Zain rush ahead. Misfar and Fuk follow warily. A half dozen wagons are drawn up around the Sultan's Claw. One of the wagons is on fire and the flames have set the old tree ablaze! Nadiyya feels drawn toward the inferno, as she is to any open flame. She urges Blaze onward, with Zain and Sonny hot on their hooves.Nadiyya can understand the language of flame. She speaks directly into the fire, calming the flames. Fuk dismounts and offerers first aid to those already injured battling the blaze. The nomads are alarmed by the sudden appearance of the goblin, but Garavel gestures for Fuk to continue and the nomads step aside. Meanwhile, Zain lifts a barrel of drinking water from one of the other wagons and pours it over the fire. Misfar consults his spellbook and summons a cloud of swirling sand to smother the flames. At this point, the fire is practically out. Fuk whacks out his (impressively proportioned) goblin willy* and emits a long, steaming stream of bright yellow piss to finally extinguish the blaze.* Fuk's player insisted on rolling 2D6 to determine the length of his character's junk = 9 inches.A beautiful young woman approaches the heroes. Garavel sinks to his knees reverently and indicates the party should follow his example. They do so. Fuk goes one better and prostrates himself in the sand at the woman's feet. She steps over him and addresses the heroes directly;"I am Almah Roveshki. You must be the trouble-shooters Garavel hired in Solku. You arrived in the nick of time and have my thanks for saving the camp. Impress me further by finding out how the fire began. Garavel will introduce you to the other members of the caravan, any one of whom could be responsible."Almah ducks back into her tent, leaving the heroes with her grizzled major-domo. Garavel nods respectfully and enquires who they would like to speak to first?Q: "What was in the burning wagon?"A: "It belonged to Eloais, an astrologer and Almah's personal fortune teller. He was trapped inside when the wagon caught fire and was burnt to death."Q: "So this is a murder investigation?"A: "That is for you to determine."Q: "Did Eloais have any enemies, here in the camp?" (Persuasion)A: "Dashki, the scout / gnoll expert harbours strong feelings for Almah and may have been jealous of the time and attention the merchant princess gave to Eloais."The party decide they would like to interview/interrogate Dashki. They find the alleged "gnoll expert" skulking behind Almah's tent, trying to perv on the princess. He is a filthy and nigh feral individual with long, greasy hair and bad teeth. Garavel is outraged and draws his sword. Nadiyya persuades the makor-domo to sheath his weapon and let her deal with Dirty Dashki. Dashki himself is immediately smitten with Nadiyya, who is just as Attractive as Almah (literally, she has the Edge to prove it).Q: "What were you doing behind Almah's tent?"A: "Nothing. I was checking the camp for hidden dangers."Q: "Don't lie to us, Dashki!!" (Intimidation, failed)"Where were you before / during the fire?"A: "I was eating by the campfire. When I saw the flames, I rushed to help."Zain does remember seeing Dashki beating ineffectually at a burning shrub, but is pretty sure he was not among the nomads gathered around the fire, as he and Nadiyya first galloped into the camp.Q: "What was your opinion of Eloais the astrologer?"A: "He was a fool, always looking up at the stars - or down his nose at me.  Burning to death is a nasty way to go, but I shan't be shedding any tears for him."The party are reasonably convinced that Dashki is telling the truth.Q: "Who else might have wanted to kill Eloais?"A: "Don't know. Maybe it was pugwampis."Q: "WTF is a pugwampi?!"A: "It's a type of gremlin. Wherever you find gnolls, you'll also find pugwampis - and this whole desert is lousy with both."Q: "Why would pugwampis burn Eloais' wagon?"A: "They wouldn't, but their presence alone is enough to cause unhappy accidents. They act like Bad Luck magnets for anyone nearby."So, according to Dashki, the astrologer's fiery demise was an accident, triggered by the proximity of tiny Bad Luck monsters. That sounds like a hard sell. Fuk suggests that it might be easier just to frame Dashki as the arsonist, kind-of-joking-but-not-really. Before Almah will accept the party's explanation, she demands to see an actual pugwampi, with her own eyes. The party are dispatched into the darkening dunes to capture a living specimen.Fuk pokes around the charred ruin of the astrologer's wagon and does find evidence of tiny, humanoid creatures in the vicinity. The heroes also meet Father Zastoran (cleric of Nethys), who laments the disappearance of his favourite goat, but has little of value to add to their investigation. He does offer the party some Healing Potions if they find his precious Rombard. The heroes scour the area around the camp but cannot find any more tracks. They can, however, hear the distant bleating of a distressed goat.The party follow the sound and soon reach the edge of a dense cactus forest. Rombard's helpless bleating beckons them into the prickly copse. Nadiyya decides to cut a path through the thorny jungle. She focuses her power - and nothing happens. Her player tries to spend a Benny to re-roll the failed Focus check, but something stops her. It doesn't take the players long to realise the pugwampi's bad luck aura is suppressing their ability to spend Bennies to re-roll. The party enter the cactus forest. Zain and Fuk weave between the cacti without getting prickled, however Nadiyya is Fatigued and Misfar (Critical Fail) is Fatigued and Wounded."Cursed pugwampis!" the wizard cries, as he trips over his own feet and falls head-first into a clump of particularly prickly plants. Someone (or something) sniggers quietly, amused by the wizard's misfortune.The party find Rombard tied to the thorny trunk of a huge cactus in the centre of a clearing. Nadiyya, Zain and Fuk sense movement all around them. Only Misfar is surprised when the pugwampis attack!Six tiny creatures appear from among the cacti. Fuk draws a bead on the closest gremlin, only for the bowstring to snap! Cursed pugwampis!! Again, Nadiyya focuses on her sword, willing the blade to burst into flame. Nothing happens, then suddenly the huge cactus in the centre of the clearing is ablaze! Nadiyya is Shaken by the arcane backlash.(Seriously, two Critical Fails in a row? Cursed Pugwampis!!!)On the plus side, the burning cactus negates the Dim Lighting penalty! Zain swings his battle hammer with wild abandon and pulverizes a gremlin. The other pugwampis find this hilarious. The gremlins taunt the heroes. Nadiyya fails to remove Shaken condition, spends a Benny to recover (it seems the pugwampis bad luck aura only prevents Bennies being spent on re-rolls)."We need an intact body to show Almah!" Nadiyyah screams, as Zain smears another pugwampi into the ground.The gremlins attack - and all miss. Fuk grapples a gremlin and manages to hold onto it!"Fuk got one! Let's go!!"Nadiyya cuts the rope tethering Rombard to the burning cactus. Misfar (finally!) casts Burst and flays the remaining pugwampis with a cone of burning sand! The heroes (carefully) exit the burning cactus forest, dragging Rombard and their captive pugwampi. They return to the camp at Sultan's Claw.Fuk presents the squirming pugwampi to Almah and her court. The rest of the party describe their experiences with the bad luck aura. Her curiosity satisfied, Almah orders Garavel to wring the creatures neck and dispose of it away from the camp. He takes the writhing pugwampi from Fuk and ducks out of the tent. Once her major-domo has returned, the merchant princess continues;"Twice now, you have demonstrated your value and I would share with you the details of my mission. The Pactmasters of Katapesh have tasked me with reclaiming the town of Kelmarane from the savage gnoll tribe occupying the ruins. I need strong and resourceful allies to assist me in this undertaking. Once trade begins to flow through Kelmarane once more, you will find yourselves generously compensated. Can I count on you to seize this unique opportunity?"The heroes are interested! Killing some gnolls for a fat payday sounds good to them!"Excellent! Garavel chose you well, it seems!""Thankyou, princess." answers the major-domo, "However, we have a small problem. We had planned on staging our assault on Kelmarane from here, but recent events have highlighted how vulnerable we would be in the event of a counter-attack. My map shows an abandoned monastery to the north-east. It would serve us well as a temporary headquarters."My men are needed here, to protect the princess. Can you heroes be relied upon to scout the ruins and deal with any dangerous inhabitants?"The party agree to clear out the old monastery.TBC</blockquote>

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