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by Colin Chapman
Introduction
'SATADA!' is a brief introductory adventure designed to be easily
integrated into any region of Talislanta with the minimum of effort
and preparation. This modular approach gives you, the GM, the
opportunity to tailor the adventure as you wish, injecting your
own creativity and style, and making it easier to adjust to the
desires of your gaming group.
Brief Overview
Location: Any isolated habitation.
Why are the PCs There?: The PCs could be members
of the habitation, traders, caravan guards, mercenaries, or travelers.
Synopsis: The habitation seems well guarded against
attack, so the PCs settle down to relax for the evening. The problem
is, that while the habitation is fairly well-guarded against 'surface'
attacks, it certainly isn't prepared for an attack from below.
A small group of Satada on the Underground Highway break through
into the center of the habitation and launch an attack on the
surprised inhabitants. With the element of surprise on their side
they successfully occupy the guards, take a handful of children
captive and retreat into the tunnel system, leaving a small rear-guard
to occupy the beleaguered guards. They fail to occupy the PCs
sufficiently though, and the heroic characters enter the tunnels
in hot pursuit of the retreating Satada and their captives. What
follows is a short 'Aliens' style underground hunt and battle
to rescue the children. When the children are safely returned,
the PCs are hailed as heroes, and the adventure is over; for now...
Notable NPCs
The Habitation Leader
The leader of the habitation is a stern, churlish member of their
race, with a heart of gold. He or she is middle-aged, short, and
has lost an eye somehow.
Leader of the Guard
The NPC responsible for organizing the habitation defenses is
a quiet and calm member of their race. While they are intelligent
and possess great potential, they are also fairly young and inexperienced.
The Captive Children
The children (2 male, 1 female) are all fairly typical young of
their species who play when happy, and scream and cry when distressed
(which they are for most of this adventure). They are surprisingly
stubborn though, and struggle like hell, slowing the Satada down.
The Satada
The villains of the piece. The Satada are vicious, cruel and cunning,
with absolutely no regard for other life forms. They won't talk
at all in this adventure, they aren't at all interested in banter
or bargaining, and they'd rather fight to the death than surrender
to such obviously inferior sentients. They're menacing in a very
cold-blooded and reptilian way. Hiss a lot.
Size: 7'-7'6", 300+lbs
Attributes:
INT+1 PER+2 WIL+3 CHA-6
STR+4 DEX+2 CON+5 SPD+2
Level: 5-12
Attacks/Damage: Bite or Claws: DR6, Tail: DR8 (may be used to
simultaneously defend from rear assault), capture Bow: DR8, or
as per weapon employed.
Special Abilities: Capable of speech (dialect of sauran, possibly
other languages), cold inflicts double damage.
Armor: Scaly hide, PR2
Hit Points: 33
Making the Adventure Your Own
Many of the notes in this adventure are generic in their approach,
requiring you to provide much of the detail to fit your choice
of location.
For example, this adventure must take place in an isolated
habitation. This could be a small village, trading post, nomadic
settlement or military outpost. In the Western lands the adventure
could easily take place in a Sarista Gypsy camp; in the Eastern
Lands it could be a Kang Military outpost; in the Wilderlands,
a trading post, and so on.
After deciding on your location, go over the adventure and build
in any details you desire to fully flesh it out. Bear in mind
what the habitation would look like, what races would be present,
and what how the various NPCs are likely to act.
For example, a trading post probably has a wide diversity
of inhabitants in the form of traders and travelers from across
the continent, while a nomadic camp, small village, outpost or
military base is going to be composed primarily of people from
the realms where it is located.
The type of habitation also determines what form the defenses
are likely to take, and the likely professions of those present.
A small village is likely to consist of subsistence farmers and
their families, with defenses consisting only of a handful of
residents on watch duty, and perhaps a wooden palisade. A nomadic
camp might feature numerous sentries and patrols, while a military
outpost would probably have stout walls and a number of sentries.
The Adventure Overview
The adventure can be broken down into 4 main scenes:
Scene One - The Calm Before the Storm
The PCs are relaxing and enjoying a quiet evening.
Scene Two - Satada!
The Satada break through, launching an attack, surprising everyone,
and kidnapping the children.
Scene Three - Pursuit into Darkness
The heroic PCs rush into the tunnels to fight the Satada. The
Satada set up a small ambush, and then regroup to face the PCs
at the edge of a vast underground lake.
Scene Four - Emergence in Victory
The PCs emerge from the tunnels, returning the children, and are
hailed as heroes.
The Adventure
The Calm Before The Storm
Nighttime. Jhang, the red moon of war is full in the black vault
of the sky, bathing everything in its crimson glow. The PCs are
relaxing, playing games, telling tales, and having a few comradely
drinks with like-minded adults of the habitation. The night is
restful and quiet, save for the occasional mournful cries of nocturnal
creatures in the surrounding wilds.
While running this scene, try to get the players to relax. They
should be completely unprepared for the next scene.
Satada!
Time this event for its greatest impact. The idea here is to shock
your players. While speaking as one of the NPCs engaged in conversation
with the PCs, break off their speech with a sudden, loud, cry
of pain. If possible, really give the scream yourself, then describe
the following scene in a frantic, fast-paced burst.
The speaking NPC screams out as a small harpoon erupts from his
chest. Cries of alarm echo around the habitation as large, hideous
reptilian monsters materialize; seemingly out of nowhere; and
create havoc.
Describe the nightmarish scene as a battleground suddenly surrounds
the PCs. Don't give any player more than a few seconds to react;
if they hesitate so do their characters. They should witness many
of the guards getting badly wounded, yet struggling valiantly,
holding back much of the Satada onslaught.
One or two Satada should engage the party but be swiftly dispatched.
As they send the Satada hissing madly to its grave they hear the
screams of the children over the din of chaos, and look up to
see the Satada knock a struggling mother to the ground, and disappear
into the ground with the children.
The skirmish still rages around them, but they are unengaged,
and a quick glance shows that the defenders are rapidly gaining
the upper hand.
The panic-stricken mother will beseech the PCs to rescue her children,
begging, and cajoling the PCs into getting her children back NOW.
She's so desperate to see her children returned that she'll even
make up bribes to influence the PCs decision. Point out the fact
that they longer they leave off pursuit, the more difficult it
will be for them to catch the Satada.
Remember, be descriptive, and keep the pace frantic. The players
(and PCs) should have little chance to catch their breath.
Pursuit into Darkness
The PCs rush into the tunnels, hot on the heels of the escaping
Satada and their captives.
This scene should be played in contrast to the frantic pacing
of the skirmish. As the PCs enter the pitch-black tunnels, the
sounds of conflict swiftly dim, and they find themselves in complete
isolation.
The hunt for the Satada should be suspenseful and eerie. Think
of the movie 'Aliens', with the only sounds being those they create,
and their vision restricted to the radius of their light source
as it creates deep shadows on the rough tunnel walls. Give them
the feeling that if their light source were to vanish, the darkness
would rush in and consume them. Mention that 'things' scuttle
away, unseen in the darkness just beyond their light, and that
the air grows notably cooler and damper as they descend. Even
characters with dark-vision; such as Gnomekin; will feel uneasy,
although they'll be able to see quite clearly. The PCs will find
it easy to track the Satada, as one of them was wounded in the
assault, and has left a trail of blood.
When the suspense has been built, shatter it with a child's cry
from up ahead, goading them into rushing forward towards the ambush.
Ambush
As the PCs race towards the source of the cry, make a PER roll
for each character. Characters with dark-vision suffer no penalty
to their roll, but other characters suffer a -4 penalty. Any Jaka
characters will feel distinctly uneasy as they approach the ambush
site. Don't let the players do this roll themselves, don't tell
them what you're rolling for, or what attribute you're using.
Keeping this secret will make the players anxious, which is what
they should be feeling anyway. Those who succeed at this roll
notice a brief glint of metal in the darkness just as the Satada
fires at them. Assume that those who succeeded can avoid the attack
(if they declare they're diving to the ground etc.), but anyone
who failed is fair game.
The Satada will only make one attack before rushing to catch up
his comrades.
The Stand
The Satada, realizing that the PCs could catch them up, don't
relish being attacked from behind, and decide to make a stand
and eliminate the pursuers. They make their stand at the edge
of a huge underground lake. They tie the children up, and wait
for the PCs to enter the cavern, capture-bows at the ready. When
the PCs enter, the Satada will each fire a single shot, before
rushing forward to engage in melee. The cavern itself is vast,
perhaps 10m high, and stretching far into the darkness.
As the conflict ends and the PCs make to leave with the children,
something stirs in the depths and they hear booming sounds like
gongs echoing under the lake. Give them a sense of foreboding,
but make it clear that the children are their first priority.
Nothing will happen if the PCs stay, and the sound of the gongs
die away after a few moments.
Emergence into Victory
The PCs return the children to the surface where their delighted
mother welcomes them. They are hailed as heroes and a feast is
held in their honor, but it is a feast tinged with sadness for
the victims. The end, for now...
Further Adventures
So, the players have experienced their first adventure in Talislanta.
What now? Well, the events of this adventure can lead on to any
number of further exploits.
Here are some thought provoking questions that could easily
be the seeds of new adventure:
Why did the Satada want young captives, and where were they taking
them? Why were the Satada so willing to sacrifice themselves to
capture them? Was the attack an isolated incident, or was it the
start of an all-out Satada assault on numerous settlements? If
this attack was only the tip of the iceberg, someone will have
to spread the word and possibly help organize better defenses.
Will the habitation need relocation? If they do, they may need
to hire guards for the perilous journey. Now that the PCs know
about the vast and mysterious Underground Highway, will they be
tempted to explore it further? Just what was causing those gong-like
sounds in the underground lake?
The players will likely choose their own path, but for now at
least, they are heroes.
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