Under a Dark Sun: Session 13

Session 13: (9/25/13)

Adventure name: Last Stand at Outpost Three - Follow-Up

Current PCs / NPCs

Grom Dunestalker - Half-Giant Psionic Warrior (PC)

Lain - Half-Elf Bard (NPC)

Sadiria - Half-Elf Wilder (NPC)

Russk - Mul (stated as a Half-Orc) Fighter (NPC)

We begin with our group approximately 1 hour from the supposed position of one of the elven observation posts.  Taking out this sentry post will leave a hole in the elven lines, allowing small groups to bypass the siege.

As the group walks along the landscape, the ground up ahead crumbles and two Monstrous Centipedes burst up out of the ground, each bigger than a kank.  The heroes dispatch the huge insects quickly, with Grom manifesting Dissolving Weapon to coat his sword in potent acid before carving into one of the centipedes, while Sadiria blasts the other with as powerful a blast of fire as she can manage, almost taking the creature out of the fight by herself.

When the group arrives at the elven sentry post, they see that it is small affair, set on a small hill, surrounded by a low wall and shaded by a ratty tarpaulin (tarp).  Three elves seem to be manning the observation post.  The party decides to simply rush the hill.  Grom ends up drawing most of the archery fire as he moves in, but returns all the injury dealt to him when he charges up the last stretch and cuts one on the elves down on the spot with his greatsword.  Sadiria softens the 2^nd elf up with a Concussion Blast as Russk moves in and finishes him off.  Lain kills the last elf instantly with a Critical Hit with his crossbow.  The party then rests for the night at the observation post.

In the morning, the PC's hike from the conquered observation post to Zalkan’s Wadi, an old dry riverbed north of Outpost Three, as the relief forces would have most likely headed along the wadi on the journey from Urik.  They then spend the hottest part of the day sheltering from the sun in a shady spot along the dry riverbed before traveling east along the wadi towards Urik.  The day passes uneventfully, with no encounters.  The group camps for the night just outside of the Sharprock Badlands, where the wadi diverts north around the raised terrain of the badlands.

The next morning the heroes set out along the wadi, and stumble upon the relief column from Urik.  The soldiers are hungry, thirsty and exhausted.  More importantly, they are currently surrounded by ~20 Scorpions.  The monstrously large arachnids have a leg-span approximately the height of a young child, and have bunched the fatigued soldiers into a huddled mass that can barely defend itself.  The party rushes in to attack the scorpions, with Lain killing an impressive number of them with Critical Hits.

Outstanding Plot Hooks:

• Why are the elf tribe attacking?
• Where are the undead elves coming from and why are they allowed to fight alongside the living elves
• Can our protagonists guide the bedraggled relief column back to Outpost Three?
• Will our party survive to reach Urik and get the payout from their caravan?