Part 3 of the ongoing Sorcerer-Kingmaker adventure path adaptation deals with a few sections: The Thorn Ford bandit camp, the Gith Lair, and the Sootstripe Halfling tribe.
The Thorn Ford Bandit Camp Part 2 dealt with the larger Verdant Belt area, and included several areas that forded or crossed the silt shallows. The Thorn Ford bandit camp is one such of these, cut out of thick thorny growth and the secure rest for Happs' buddies, as well as his second-in-charge Kressle, a scrappy and dangerous escaped gladiator who fights with a pair of bone wrist razors. She is backed up by a disparate group of 4-8 bandits, using javelins, dejadas, and stone knives. Their treasure consists of a variety of ceramic and silver coinage, some jewelery, a carved wooden music-box, some crates of animal hides, and a crate of valuable liquor siezed for the Sun Lord himself. If given the opportunity, the bandits will talk about their boss, a hardened man who's an absolute monster in combat. People have seen him block blows that no-one saw coming, sieze the blade of a spear between his palms, and that he runs an old fort near the north shore of the Tusksilts. They might even share the passphrase, which is "By the bloody bones of Gilmorg, who wants to know"". They're scared of him, but they also respect his power, and they're also afraid of the creepy old man kept down under the fort. The Gith Hive Looming over all the hills in the northern Kamelands is an ancient and colossal baobab-type tree, visible for miles around. Its gnarled roots hide the lair to a hive of Gith which plague the area, and have long been at war with the Sootstripe Halfling tribe who live about 12 miles to the south. There are about 31 Gith living here in total, all combat-effective, although not all of them are present at once. Recently, the Gith stole a tribal relic of the Sootstripe halflings for the third time in as many months. It is an unusually common sight to find dead and stripped halflings and Gith in between their various locations, slain by one another and looted thoroughly. The caverns beneath the old tree are winding and narrow, and any attacks with reach weapons, or opportunity attacks, have disadvantage. The Gith craft all sorts of horrid traps, including shaved thorn caltrops, springy roots with sharp stone blades mounted into them, and small ceramic pots of centipede-scent, which will almost instantly (within 1 minute or so) draw attention from any of the creatures nearby. While they use several within their dingy hive, they craft many more here for use in the wastes. In the hive can also be found a captured Sootstripe halfling named Mikmek, who was captured perhaps a week ago and has been tormented, starved, and poked with sharp sticks for fun, along with three of his (now dead) companions. Mikmek only speaks a little of the Common tongue, and in broken tongue will explain that he was caught trying to rescue the tribal relic. If handed a weapon (or allowed to pick one up from the ground), he will be a loyal companion to the PCs, at least until they reach the chieftain of the Sootstripes later. In the middle of the hive is a great chasm where a vast centipede dwells, bridged by knotted roots and vines. The Gith gleefuly clamber between them, whooping and hollering, but PCs are likely to have difficulty navigating this with any speed. In the depths of the hive can be found a war-room containing the Gith war-leader, Grabbles, who is skilled in combat and with psionic powers. This room holds the halflings' relic, a masterfully-carved wooden statuette referencing dozens of their shared tribal legends. The Sootstripe Tribe The Sootstripes, a tribe of halflings who make their home here in the Verdant Belt, tattoo a black stripe across their eyes. They have been losing members of the tribe to the Gith attacks and bandit attacks, and cannot afford to fight another war against colonizers. Chief Sootstripe is engaged in a political struggle with Tartuk, a halfling who fled from a death sentence in Raam due to being caught engaged in several criminal enterprises at once, and has been making a living drifting from tribe to tribe before he can be caught, selling some into slavery and setting others at war with forces they cannot hope to win against. He has been manipulating the Sootstripe tribe for the past few years, and although they are growing suspicious of him, they care enough about their tribal traditions that they haven't gone against him yet, although there is definite tension in the tribe. All in all, the tribe is down to about 20 living members, and are desperate for new blood and some peace. If the PCs can offer some of those, Chief Sootstripe is more than happy to make an alliance with them. Tartuk has some minor psionic talents, but is an experienced alley-knife and social manipulator. He has suborned several of the Sootstripe halflings to utter loyalty to him, and even returning the relic to Chief Sootstripe will cause a violent struggle between the factions. The tribe's treasure consists of a wealth of coins, seven doses of Oil of Impact, a pair of Boots of Sneaking, and a soiled leather pouch containing the treasure stolen from the Gith, including Svetlana's ring. Once these areas have been dealt with, the PCs have the opportunity to have gained some clues about their enemies, dealt with some dangerous pests, and made some allies, leaving them in a good situation to take on their next target- the Sun Lord himself. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 18 September 2020. Comments are closed.
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