Strangers Come to Shokonee Flats

Suzy hated this game, but all the other kids were here playing so she was here too. She hoped they wouldn’t tease her with a scorpion. She hated scorpions, but still thought what the big kids were doing was wrong.

Then they saw the strangers, a ferren, a tall girl, a goreaux on a thunder cycle, and a little man riding a big yellow dog. She had never seen anyone like him before, except maybe Mayor Trimble, but he was different, like a little man the size of a kid. Suzy asked to pet the dog and it sniffed her and let her pet him on his soft fur. She like the dog. They wanted to go to the store so she showed them where Mister Lu Wang had his general store. Sometimes mother would buy her a sweet from the store. She pushed her face against the window looking inside.

Then she heard the sound of distant thunder rolling across the desert. She knew it was the sound of Lord Kallin’s troops coming to town. She could see the cloud of dust rising into the air. Suzy hid in a shed and peaked out at the street. She was afraid of what would happen. Lord Kallin’s troops came into town. There were two men and six gnolls. The gnolls scared Suzy. They seemed more like wild animals than people. Some of the group had guns with them. Four of them when into the saloon, two stayed with the crawler, and two went into the store. She knew they would be mean to Lu Wang, he was one of the few townsfolk who tried to stand up against Lord Kallin’s men.

Suzy wasn’t surprised when Lu Wang came flying through the window. Suzy put her hands over her eyes at the sound of the smashing glass. Then she heard the strangers. She had forgot about them. They didn’t know they were s’posed to hide when Lord Kallin’s men came around. The little man with the big dog was calling the big gnoll names. Suzy put her fist in her mouth to keep from crying out. She knew the little man was prolly gonna git killt.

Suzy couldn’t help herself from watching as they began to fight. The big gnoll hit the little man with an axe but the dog and the little man fought back. The raccoon also came up and started firing a gun. Soon the sound of gunfire was all over the street. A gnoll ran into the saloon. Soon the troops were firing out of the windows of the saloon at the strangers.

Suzy was amazed that the strangers didn’t run away. The tall lady raised her hands in the air and blasted water at Lord Kallin’s troops. She had heard that the bhuka sometimes could move earth like that but she never heard of someone doing tricks like that with water. The battle went on and on. The tall lady kept healing her friends with her water magic. The dog kept tripping the big gnoll to get him on the ground. She thought sure the strangers would lose but then finally the big gnoll went down.
When it was almost over Sheriff Plank came out and tried to arrest the strangers. They scared him back into his Jail house. Suzy giggled at that. The strangers had won. It turned out the strangers were heroes! They must’ve come to save the town!

After the battle everyone ran into the street and started cheering. Well, most everyone. That Lady Scarlett didn’t look too happy of course. Anyway Mayor Trimble came out and said there would be a parade tomorrow. The little man and his dog stayed in town but the rest of the heroes left. Some of the grown-ups started to look worried when they saw the heroes leaving. Had they come to save them or not? At least the little man and his dog were still here.

Ambush at the Sun Dial

Aurroo glanced at what remained of her squad. Lord Kallin was going to be angry. They had lost two of the metal men. She still had the foul taste of goreaux in her mouth. She wondered why Yeenoghu allowed something so foul tasting to exist.
Only yesterday they had set out to harvest the death stones with a full squad. The trip to the sun dial on the sand crawler was uneventful. They should have paid more attention to the strange scent. The harvest was going well when they were ambushed by the strange pack. Two ferran, a human, and a half-human riding a dog. The dog fought with great courage. It took down Yeeauk and Arauul. Rraroo and Panurok were also struck down. Grrurul had disgraced himself by offering the weasel ferran his spear in the midst of the battle. She must have cast a spell on him. The raccon ferran had fired a boom stick at them. These must have been the group that Bauau had reported seeing at the Bhuka camp a few days ago. They must be more powerful then she had reported.
These strangers seemed not to have heard of Lord Kallin. Aurroo explained to them that they would be in trouble when he found out what they had done, but the strangers ignored the warning. For some reason the human female used magic to revive the squad. She must not have been hungry.
The strangers met a goreaux on a thunder cycle. They took the sand crawler and the remains of the metal men and rode off to the east.
Aurroo hoped that her failure would not bring disgrace to the Blood Paws pack.

First Game Session Recap

Zallen, Allys, Jet, and Alton
Allys and Jet, a pair of Ferrens, (weasel and raccoon respectively) had been crossing the Great Ameron Desert for several days without much incident. Having passed through a strange dust storm they found themselves traveling through the Great Dunes. About half way through they encounter Alton, a halfling, riding a wolf. After passing the two ferrens Alton comes out to a clearing to see a Bhuka fighting a gnoll and a hyena. About this time Zallen arrived at the top of the dunes. Just as the group approached the gnoll strikes a final blow to the bhuka rendering it unconscious. After a brief battle the gnoll is also knocked unconscious and the hyena flees.
Zallen recognizes the young bhuka as the son of the great bhuka leader. The group is able to stabilize the bhuka and the gnoll and begin hauling them north towards the lands of the bhuka. Just as they reach the final hill to the bhuka encampment, a band of 6 gnolls and 6 hyena attack the party and accuse them of slaying their brother. Luckily a group of bhuka emerges from the sand and scare away the gnolls with some help from Allys.
The bhuka camp is set up on the backs of giant beetles that slowly move across the desert from place to place.
The bhuka matriarch Burana welcomes the group, gives them a meal, short bows, 5 days rations, 30 gp each.
The group makes its way to a structure known as the sundial to investigate why the gnolls have become so aggressive.

Shokonee Flats Character Hooks

The Village Shokonee Flats

A group of children are playing on the edge of town taking scorpions and dropping them onto a swarm of red ants and laughing as the ants tear apart the scorpions.

1. Mayor: Tom Trimble, has contacts with the Fey Queen in western Ameron.
2. Bank: Don Wall is the banker who has been embezzling.  The Banker suspects his dishonesty and has dispatched a group of Auditors to deal with him.
3. Lord Kallin: an aristocrat scientist inventor from Kenston, originally from the east, has taken over the town of Shokonee Flats, bribing the Mayor and fabricating a scandal to get the old sheriff fired.  His goons regularly bully the towns people.
4. Lady Scarlet Johnson: Consort of Lord Kallin an orphan who moved to Shokonee.  Her father was killed by a Tiefling, her mother died in child birth.  Her Aunt raised her and blamed her for her mother’s death.  She fled as soon as she was able and ended up in Shokonee Flats.  She tries to hide her Tiefling ancestry.
5. Sir Lawrence: An actor from Kenston vacationing in the desert for his health is actually a spy of the Queen investigating the activities of Lord Kallin.
6. Barber: Victor Oswald is working on a flesh golem in the cellar
7. Blacksmith: Edvard Cree, Golemoid/Steamwright, learned his skills in the city and fled to the wilderness after doing illegal implants on city gang members.
8. Assayer
9. Undertaker: Morty Addams has been suppling part to the barber for his flesh golem.  Morty is a spy of the ghouls.
10. Saloon/Inn/Brothel
11. Church: Father Olson has been preaching about “True Time”
12. Carpenter/Builder
13. Jail & Sheriff: Sheriff Bob Plank is a stooge of Lord Kallin.  There is a bhuka, Utaku, being held in the jail.  Lyle Little is the town drunk being held in the jail.  He is the tailor’s father.  He is the subject of ridicule for Lord Kallin’s men.
14. Hat Shop/Tailor: Tim Little, is the taylor and hat-maker for the town.  He has devised a plan to poison Lord Kallin whom he makes fine clothes for.  He is waiting for the poison from a renegade alchemist named Lavoisier.  His plan is to apply the poison to a pin and “accidentally” stick Lord Kallin.
15. Printers: Reporter Luis Long is investigating crimes committed by Lord Kallin and is preparing an expose article.
16. Lawyer: Marc Mason, This is actually the Tiefling that killed Scarlett Johnson’s mother disguised as a human.
17. Grolox Lomoloch is a Goreaux Mechamage that has been missing for several weeks last seen traveling out to explore some rumors at the Sun Dial
18. Zirish is a hobgoblin local gambler and gunslinger.  He was formerly an employee of the Banker but has now become a bank robber. Zirish Storm Cloud 4th level hobgoblin gunslinger.  Zirish was working for the Bank until he decided to become a bank robber.  He is in town plotting his next hold up.
19. Luke Pike is the former sheriff who has become something of a robin hood outlaw bent on destroying Lord Kallin.  His gang includes his brother Benny who is  a ghoul, Lavosier a mad alchemist, and Gorroo a renegade gnoll.  His girl friend is Annette Feuberg a fire kineticist.
20. Carpenter/Builder
21. Apothecary
22. Granary
23. General store
24. Clock square: There is a daily open air market here.  Larger on the weekends.
25. Smokehouse
26. Windmill
27. Tannery
28. Warehouse

NPCs

1. Lord Kallin: A reclusive aristocrat from Kenston who has a ranch out of town, Lord Kallin is actually a Rakshasa.  Lord Kallin and his goons are bullies who extort money from the townsfolk. His goons consist of a variety of lowlife villainy including humans, gnolls, and goreaux (constructs).
2. Lady Scarlett Johnson: 6th Level Psychic Tiefling

Rumors:

DC 5: Scarlett is living with Lord Kallin

DC 10: Scarlett has comes from east of the Sierscar Mountains

DC 13: Scarlett has a group of women warriors that protect her

DC 17: Scarlett has psychic powers

DC 20: Scarlett murdered her parents

Scarlett Johnson’s father was a wandering tiefling.  He came across the cabin of a young settler couple.  He killed the husband and raped the mother then fled. Her mother died during childbirth leaving Scarlett to be raised by her Aunt Rose.  The aunt hated Scarlett, blaming her for her parent’s death.  When Scarlett became old enough she fled the tiny village and wandered until she ended up in Shokonee Flats where she reinvented herself as a Aristocrat.  She has recruited a group of ninja to help her. She found a natural companion in Lord Kallin.

Monster Campaign Aftermath

The demon lord is defeated and the mind-flayers are returned to power in the monster city.  The characters are regarded as heroes.  A grand parade is held in their honor with monsters of every kind celebrating in the streets.  The dragons put on a fantastic pyrotechnic display in the skies overhead.  Statues are erected in the central square of the city to honor the Yang Xiao Long, the golden dragon and Kiome, the kitsune.

The Yang Xiao and Kiome become regarded as guardians of the city and the city itself becomes known as Aurum Dracopolis or City of the Golden Dragon.

After a trial many of the lizard folk leaders are executed for their offences, but Kigate pleads the case of the other lizard folk and they are allowed to leave the city to form a druidic enclave in a swampy region outside of the city.

The mysterious cat believed by some to have been responsible for the Fey Queen's demise seems to have vanished from history along with Naomi the water elemental.

Glubleep-gloop, the kuo-toan, disappears into the deepest sewers of the under-city is not seen again for a long time.  On the lowest levels of the under-city, in the darkest shadows of the sewers, insane babbling can be heard on occasion "Gloop gleep, gloop gleep".  Years later legends begin to spread of a group of dark kuo-toans who worship an evil demon lord.  Worse yet the kuo-toans are equipped with mechanical weapons of devious cunning, questionable craftsmanship, and uncertain safety standards.

Ameron Encounters

Ameron Desert Encounters

1. Sand Dial: Scorpions, lizards, snakes
2. Gnoll hunter, hyena
3. Ghost Town: Kronos Creek
4. Shokonee Flats
5. Gnoll lair/Bandit camp
6. Bhuka stronghold

Desert Stats

Just some stats for the game.

House Rules:

No evil PCs
3.5 Leveling system
Backstory for character will earn you up to 500 XP
Character updates and monologues will earn additional XP
Pathfinder/DND3.5/DND3.0 are acceptable
Alternative classes and races are OK if approved by GM however you will have to correctly implement the game mechanics, don't rely on the GM if it is an obscure class.
I'd like to have the focus on story building not power gaming or rules.
When leveling hit dice reroll 1s and 2s (once)

Abilities scores: Choose either 4d6 3 highest reroll 1s once
Or point system
8 points/ability + 30 assigned
9-14 1 point per Ability point
2 points for 15
2 points for 16
3 points for 17
3 points for 18

Start characters in three different locations in the desert depending on which way they are walking so that they are walking toward each other.

Perception DC 10: Spot the dried up creek bed.
DC 15: Locate a fragment in the creek bed either a piece of technology, old tire, brass fitting etc.
DC 20: Something of value or money

DC 25: Still suit (in the desert)

DC 20: Spot the Sun Dial from a great distance
DC 15: Spot the Sun Dial from closer up

DC 15: Spot the gnoll hunter

Determine up stream from down stream survival DC 15
Find root plants Survival DC 15
Get water in the desert Survival DC 15
Determine direction Survival DC 15