Slavers from Off-World/Knight of the Long Teeth

Orrish Goblin Orrish Hunting is part of the Transformation of Crestwold campaign. Slavers from Off-World is the discovery of a crashed spaceship!
> NOTE: Originally, it was integrated into the main campaign, but all encounters were broken out into its own arc for secondary characters.

Author: Kelly Berger (2020)
System: The Slavers from Off-World adventure is designed for the Incarna d20/5th Edition DnD variant.
Approximate character levels are 4-6

Background Information

Who: [The major individuals and group operators involved.]

What: [This is a summary of events and activity leading up to the point the characters enter the story.]

Where: [Where the events and activities took place and (if needed) what places beyond were effected.]

When: [What was the rough date, season, or time stream the background events and activities took place in.]

Prerequisites:

What the Characters Know

[What might the characters know about the background, if anything?]
  • Common Knowledge: No checks required with any Familiarity/Proficiency
  • Uncommon Knowledge: What checks are required?
  • Hidden Knowledge: What is completely unknown to the players (and perhaps to the NPC’s!).

Fitting into Existing Campaign

Introduction
Part 1.
Reports are coming in as more people confirm they saw a dragon, breathing its fiery breath, going east over the ___ Vale area, towards the White Garden area – an old collection of seven villages near each other on the edge of Yarans Vale. Folks on the road say they talked to people there and on the road itself, as well as Autumnade. There are few details, though. This all follows a dragon sighting from weeks ago though, and the persistence is worrying. Someone must investigate, if only to put the Baronial powers at ease.
> Grollen mercenaries sent out and found nothing. Strange tracks, and some goblin ear trophies brought back, but after a few weeks all activity subsided.

Setup
Neogi spaceships/slavers are behind it. They are taking slaves off the planet.
The Crash: A Neogi slaver ship (recently taking a mass of goblins) is pursued by the Ork spaceship into the space around Helca. Violating the Imperium Treaty, they sought shelter in its atmosphere and were shot down – the Orks assumed destroyed and did not pursue. They almost all died, but played dead until the last second before using the last of their reserve power to crash land. The ruse worked, now they are repairing their ship. They feel like they may as well violate the treaty more as the worst is already done, and they are taking slaves.

Selling Goblin Slaves
Once they realized the Sun-Bane will kill them, the Neogi gets rid of the goblins as fast as they can for any bid. They think they have been infected with something! If they wait long enough, they are afraid it will infect all their cargo.
> These goblins have no tribal markings on them, speak a strange dialect of Orrish and have no bearings. They have been told they will die in the sun, but none believe it. Not marked with Dwindor tribe (3 clans – claw, eye, maw) or any tribe of Orrish known.
> None of the goblins use the customary poisoned/diseased coated weapons

Dragon Sighting: As they crashed, there were several folk who saw a flaming wreck streak across the sky. To their recollection, it was a dragon. Now every shadow that passes overhead is a dragon, and reports of dragons are reaching the Baron and Torrelsons Ford.

Jake: One person who also saw them was Jake. He was returning to areas near his birthplace, seeing if he could gain revenge in some way, when he witnessed the crash of the Neogi ship. He took this to be the sign from his dark mistress he was waiting for. He came upon the ship and his abilities allowed him to see through the illusion of the hologram. He demanded an audience, pounding on the ship. Using technical translators the Neogi quickly understood what was happening, checked their galactic databases, and enlisted him into their service. Jake convinces the Neogi to mentally break the grollen, free them to be savages and use them. Ultimately, they are going to try and enslave him.

Jake advised them on handling the Grollen group that followed and worked to plan the attacks on White Garden and collection of more slaves while the wait was on for the ship to be repaired.
No burning to alert the next town.
Coordinates in bands on both sides of village road.
He restrains them to allow slaves to be taken.

Knight of the Long Teeth
The Mound:
The dirt all around it is disturbed.
Perception – Smells like fresh earth, seems freshly tilled.

As you get close to the mound, your entire vision gets blurry and you see bright white light flash in your eyes. Suddenly, the mound is gone and there is a large boat in a trench, that looks like the boat caused as it was dragged over the land. And… the boat is made of metal. Your mind reels from this sight, it makes no sense. Nothing smells right, looks right, or even tastes right as you realize you’ve bitten into your lip, drawing blood.
DC 10 Sanity check to not make noise

The man comes over to you, with a ridiculous grin on his face that seems quite forced. He stops about 60’ and raises a stiff arm and waves. “Hello people, how are you today? Looks like rain, you should head for cover – it’s down the road that way.” He turns stiffly and points back to the road.
DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check to notice he is unblinking. 50% chance it may look like it would rain, maybe.

Lookout
Neogi
If characters approach with stealth they can get to 10’ before the helmet alarm trips.

It has a hologram cloaking device that makes it appear as a human. And a translator to communicate. It is armed with a net gun (for more slaves); 60’ range [1 use], 1 target. DC 20 Dexterity (Acrobatics) to avoid or incapacitated.
2 tangler grenades (for more slaves) DC 15 Dexterity (Acrobatics) or tangled 10’ radius (grappled condition)
And a proton gun 3d10/16 @ 40’ + DC 10 Constitution check or Stunned condition for 1 round
Micro SEU 10 @ 2 per use.
Smart helmet HUD: Infrared filter/sunglasses, ship comm (damaged), alert mode (detect movement within 10’)

This represents all the technology the neogi could save from their hunting stores in the secondary storage bay when it was hit by the Orks and they crashed and after they captured the Grollen.

Airlocks to Ship
Keyed to neogi only – will need the head for recognition. Otherwise “Unrecognized Crew” error.

Slaves have been tattooed and given TRAIT: Imperium Chattel Health Treatment

The Neogi had a plan to use the Grollen to mask the raids as just racial violence. If they simply “disappeared” a bunch of people, it would raise too much attention. Since there are few remains left from a Grollen raid, they felt no one would need to examine things too closely.

In the main cargo pbay are 2 large pods with 5 mezzoliths (ultradaemon) insectoids (3 are dead). They are in cryo-sleep, each in a pod with frosted glass. These are soldiers the neogi are hoping to sell. If they are freed, they will be incapacitated for 3 rounds, then angry. They will attack any neogi first. Then try and free themselves, and lastly attack others if that is not possible – they have no care for others of their kind.

NPCs, Entities of Note, and Monsters
Jake
His Story: Knight errant (Paladin) of the Order of Bratviest is how he describes himself, using different names wherever he goes (Jake currently). It is an order from the far south he says, and he is on sabbatical.

His Real History: He was a young boy in Womac Tower (in SE Saelish of Dunstrand) when Umbakians besieged it seeking some prophesied child and in terror promised his soul to darkness if he lived. He did. He traveled east, skulking through the Hammer and Anvil pass. Drawn irresistibly to a place in the scoured landscape of the east. He was trained by the blasphemous Order of Phun. Phun was a town in the east, sacked by the Orrish in The Fall – every last person, young and old. Now, an enclave of Gloombringer. They are also called Gloombringers Beacon – it draws the souls promised to darkness from the west. Her voice whispers in their ears when they leave… and forever more. They return to the west, impersonating warriors from far lands, so far and obscure it’s nearly impossible to verify. There they seek to gather intelligence and find a cause they can let loose their violent and sadistic appetites on.

https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Paladin#content
Oath of Conquest: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/paladin:conquest
Paladin 4 > HP 32
Feat: Weapons Master (style), Mounted Combatant
Breast plate/shield [AC 16] + Style [AC 17] Long sword d8/4 + 3 = 7 +2 [style] = 9 (x2 if mounted charge)
Using 5 point of Lay on Hands can cause a bleeding wound (lose 2hp/round for 5 rounds)
1st level: [3] heroism, searing smite (no concentrate/1r only), wrathful smite (no concentrate/1r only)
Divine Smite = +2d8/9 per spell slot (bolt of black!)

Key Characters

Key Character Template

Who they are…. and their role in it all.

Motivations: What does the character hope to achieve?

> Aversion(s) > What do they hope to avoid or will not do?

Space Ship

Pheromone pacification
Light shift screen
Stay dose
Stim dose
Power supply
Med pack progit
Body comp
Helmet can track ship and see beyond LSS
Shock pak attaches to metal blade d6 extra shock 6 charges, used by smugglers. Ring grips around a point point where everything beneath it will not be shocked. Everything above it the small inline battery to the magnet charges. On a full or extraordinary hit the target loses its next reaction
Stun stick

Escort, biometric enabling of many devices.
Project minor illusion 120
Translator
Gauss screen 50 point
Police staff, stun-fatigue 12 on any hit, cannot be knocked over or back… 1 charge each
Crude leather
Stim pak
Eye dark vision and projector for bio unlock with headband

Neogi are infected with disease half HP

Med Bay

smashed

Slave Pens

Cages several broken, stains on floor, a few have remains inside with “save for DNA” stickers.
… Broken cages; Most filled cryo

Contents

Lizard folk
Troglodyte
Humans – folk, smugglers, peddlers, fishermen, farmers
Deer
Giant snake
Moorcat (beaten up)
Goblin
Giant spider
Willow wisp

VIDEO RECORDS

Racing star cruiser, under fire
Seeking shelter gets shut down would crash in ocean
Cruiser hits and flight path altered
Lightning strike enables power
Meteor over bar innis
Dragon flies over
Sending goblin scouts out, seeing them burst into flames in the daylight
1 remote drone scouting area
Sell goblins to green hags
Observing the Furflung Killers trying to find the goblin spoor
” ” escaped creatures from slave pens; they succumb to disease.
Each captured creature getting caught
Counter: Galactic Credit value going up and up
Repairs being made.
Engine finally fires up.
Send the goblins out to raid, get the Furflung Killers, they get controlled and set out to capture lots of human slaves before the neogi leave.

More Materials