Session 3

10th Day of Morrow in the Year of Priest’s Defiance (Free Year 1)

Day

I realize I forgot to roll for Erenil’s arrows during battle, so I’ll make two consumables rolls for that now: 1d12: 11 = No change and 1d12: 8 = No change.

The closest oasis/settlement is Altaruk, which Cedran knows is to the southwest of the caravan’s route. Erenil attempts to use the sun to discern which direction is north and guide them in the appropriate direction.

Journeying Tasks:

• Erenil Leads the Way and Hikes, rolling Survival 2 + 1 + Wits 3, 6d6 = 4, 3, 6, 4, 4, 1. Success.
  • Travel one hex south-west.
• Erenil Leads the Way and Hikes, rolling Survival 2 + 1 + Wits 3, 6d6 = 1, 4, 5, 1, 4, 3. Failure... PUSH. 3d6 = 6, 6, 6. Success.
  • Travel one hex south-west to meet the road.
• Azhar Keeps Watch and Hikes, rolling Scouting 3 + Wits 2, 5d6 = 2, 5, 2, 6, 4. Success.
• Cedran simply Hikes.

Hiking during the day in Athas is ill advised, so I’ll use the Forced March rules to model the difficulty of the heat.

• Erenil rolls Endurance 1 + Strength 3: 4d6 = 2, 3, 1, 6. Success.
• Azhar rolls Strength 4: 4d6 = 1, 2, 1, 4. Failure.
• Cedran rolls Strength 2: 2d6 = 6, 5. Success.

Azhar is an animal native to the wastes and no stranger to the heat, so I assign him a point of Strength damage, and I decrease Erenil’s water die by 1 to keep him going (d10 to d8), but after this quarter day, he cannot do anything but rest.

New hex procedure: Draw a card: 9 of Hearts = Random Encounter. d66: 16 = No encounter.

For now, it’s just them and the open desert.

New hex procedure: Draw a card: Ace of Hearts = Random Adventure Site. d6: 3 = Village

With the sun finally starting to set, Erenil finally spots the thin strip of road heading northwest toward Altaruk. Hoping they’ve left the silt runners far behind, they try to settle in to rest, only to realize they are not the only ones traveling along the road.

Azhar smells them with his enhanced senses and alerts Erenil to the presence of a nomadic group of Characters who are 10:Busy | 81:Resourceful, which I decide represents a small group of elves. Random Element Locations: 4:Aromatic | 58:Quiet. There’s something delicious cooking at a small fire. These are hunters, a few of whom are keeping watch as the rest of their hunting party sleeps through the high heat of the day.

Erenil gingerly approaches the hunters, thinking she will try to establish that she is no threat. Her success seems Likely, with the risk being that they might consider her intruding on their hunting grounds. The Oracle says Exceptional No. Roll: 98. She gets close enough to discern the tribal markings of these hunters, and realizes they are the same group that slaughtered her tribe years ago. If they recognize her markings, she assumes they’ll become hostile, sensing an opportunity to finish what they started long ago and take Erenil’s and Cedran’s supplies for their own.

Erenil attempts to keep the group out of sight of the elven hunters. She rolls Stealth: Agility 4: 4d6 = 1, 4, 1, 4. PUSH. 6, 4. Success. It’s a close call, but she and Cedran are able to find a ravine that they are reasonably certain will stay hidden.

Evening

Journeying Tasks:

• Erenil Keeps Watch and rolls Scouting 4 + Wits 3, 7d6 = 5, 1, 1, 5, 2, 2, 2. Failure... PUSH. 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, 6, 3. Success. That’s a 1 on the skill die, which luckily doesn’t count as a bane.
• Azhar Sleeps and recovers all lost attribute points.
• Cedran Makes Camp and rolls Survival 3 + Wits 4: 7d6 = 2, 6, 4, 6, 5, 3, 5. Success.

Everyone eats some rations and drinks some water. Erenil rolls 1d10 Food: 1 = Descrease food one step (d10 to d8) and 1d8 Water: 1 = Descrease water one step (d8 to d6). Cedran rolls 1d6 Food: 2 = No change and 1d6 Water: 4 = No change.

Draw a card for a general encounter: 6 of Clubs = No encounter. The group passes the evening in peace.

Night

Journeying Tasks:

• Erenil tries to Sleep.
• Azhar Keeps Watch and rolls Scouting 3 + Wits 2, 5d6 = 3, 5, 2, 5, 1… Push. 1, 3, 5, 3. Failure. That’s a 1 on the skill die, which luckily doesn’t count as a bane.
• Cedran tries to Sleep.

Draw a card for a general encounter: King of Clubs = Bandits. Looks like that elven hunting party happens upon Erenil’s camp after all. It’s one thing to hide yourself physically, but it’s another matter when there are potentially some Wild Talents among your enemies. And Azhar failed his keep watch roll, so the group has no advance warning. This is going to be bad.

I want to find out whether the hunting party was able to detect Erenil and company psychically. I decide such a thing is about 50/50 odds. Oracle says No. Roll: 60. Cedran had gotten 2 successes on his Make Camp roll, so I decide that the camp was well hidden, and it’s only be accident that the elven hunters stumble upon the group. They attack Azhar at the same time as the beast lets out a howl of alarm.

We’ll roll for initiative.