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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Infiniti2000" data-source="post: 5120376" data-attributes="member: 31734">I asked why <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/plots-places/272962-why-do-dwarves-chop-down-trees.html" target="_blank">dwarves chop down trees</a> in the plots forum, and this weekend I'm hoping to have the players work through only my second skill challenge of the campaign.  (I think I suck at them so bad I'm deathly afraid of them.)  The PC's are currently 3rd level, though I artificially whipped them through part of 1st and all of 2nd (we didn't want to spend a huge amount of time at low-levels, so I'm not currently counting XP).Anyway, for this question, the PC's will encounter some dwarves, which will initially be the dwarven lumberjack group.  It would be a tough but winnable fight if it came to that, but that's not my hope and I doubt my players will actively choose it.  Instead, the PCs will have to work with the dwarves and try to gain their trust enough to (eventually?) secure a truce with the dwarves and elves.  I need to figure out a skill challenge to use in the next session (March 27).  Relevant pieces of information:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The PCs are currently adventuring far away from the Elven settlement with two elves, the Master at Arms and an archer apprentice.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The PCs are moving to investigate the area where they previously saw dwarves chopping down trees.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">On the way, the elves detoured to have the players fight a beholder gauth for them.  This was deceptive on their part and the PCs figured it out before they got there, though the PCs also agreed to do it.  One of the three elves accompanying them died in the fight.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Because of the detour, the party notices a wood fire off their path.  They would not have noticed this had they not followed the elves to the beholder.  This smoke site will be the lumberjacks burning down a bunch of wood for charcoal before the long journey back to their city.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The dwarves know of a stone drake lair that constantly gives them trouble to and from their city to the forests.  Now that I write this up, maybe this is exactly the best description (the stone drake I guess HELPS the elves...).  Anyway, this could be used as leverage.  The dwarves cannot take on the stone drakes without significant loss of life and yet the PCs could.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The PC's have an everful keg.  They also have everlasting provisions.  I swear I didn't intend these as "plot items" but they're incredibly relevant right now.  The players specifically carried the keg on this mission just for the possibilities it would produce in negotations.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The players races: goliath, elf, half-elf, human, shifter.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I have all my 3.X books with all that flavor and use it.  For example, I'm using the full race descriptions in Races of the Wild (for elves) and Races of Stone (for dwarves and goliaths).  Feel free to consider those things in here and I'll update any necessary mechanics to 4th.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I have several other special things in my campaign.  One is a gas I call 'falium' which is produced primarily by a type of sheep.  This gas is MUCH lighter than air, or magical, or whatever, but it allows the sheep to float.  These sheep are then used to power airships.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">In addition, I have a type of rock called vellenite that is very light and porous, similar to coral (though not alive).  Consider it lighter, but not quite as brittle.  This rock, however, usually contains natural pockets of falium.  Once dug up, it can float and be used to create floating islands of a sort.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The gas is inflammable!  This obviously presents a large amount of war considerations.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Based on the comments in the linked thread, the dwarves are using wood to build war machines (perhaps enclosing the vellenite or maybe they have a cache of the floating sheep.  They might also have finally devised a process to capture the gas within a built enclosure (of wood), which would be EXTREMELY valuable.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The PCs don't know about any of this and would need to garner an extreme amount of trust by the dwarves.  One way to do this, obviously, is to take out the stone drakes for them.</li> </ul>Thanks for any help!</blockquote>

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