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Thieves and Thugs

The most commonly encountered enemies in “Shadow in the Sky” are Riddleport’s thugs and thieves. While those who employ these scoundrels vary, the scoundrels themselves do not—you can use these thugs and thieves as streetwalking cutpurses, bandits, employees of any of the city’s crimelords, or even as shopkeepers or bystanders as required. Feel free to swap out weapons as you wish.

Riddleport Thief CR 1 Human rogue 1 NE Medium humanoid

Init +6; Senses Listen +4, Spot +4

DEFENSE

AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +2 Dex)

hp 8 (1d6+2)

Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +0

OFFENSE

Spd 30 ft.

Melee rapier +1 (1d6+1/18–20) or sap +1 (1d6+1 nonlethal)

Ranged dagger +2 (1d4+1/19–20) or shortbow +2 (1d6/×3)

Special Attacks sneak attack +1d6

TACTICS

During Combat Thieves work with their allies, attempting to flank foes to maximize sneak attack opportunities. They fight with their backs to walls or other barriers whenever possible.

Morale A thief flees if brought below 4 hit points.

STATISTICS

Str 13, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 8

Base Atk +0; Grp +1

Feats Improved Initiative, Stealthy

Skills Bluff +3, Disable Device +5, Hide +8, Intimidate +3, Knowledge (local) +5, Listen +4, Move Silently +8, Open Lock +6, Sleight of Hand +6, Spot +4

Languages Common, Varisian

SQ trapfinding

Gear leather armor, rapier, daggers (4), shortbow with 20 arrows, 2d6 gp

Riddleport Thug CR 1/2 Human warrior 1 NE Medium humanoid

Init +0; Senses Listen +0, Spot +0

DEFENSE

AC 13, touch 10, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor)

hp 5 (1d8+1)

Fort +3, Ref +0, Will +0

OFFENSE

Spd 30 ft.

Melee short sword +3 (1d6+1/19–20) or unarmed strike +2 (1d3+1)

TACTICS

During Combat A thug employs simple tactics in combat, simply rushing up to a foe and slashing away with his sword.

Morale Innately cowardly, a thug attempts to flee as soon as he is wounded.

STATISTICS

Str 13, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 8

Base Atk +1; Grp +2

Feats Improved Unarmed Strike, Weapon Focus (short sword)

Skills Intimidate +3

Languages Common

Gear studded leather armor, short sword, 1d10 gp

Quick Gambling Results    Check DC Result

DC 10                                     Loss: Lose 50% of stake.

DC 12                                     Minor Loss: Lose 20% of stake.

DC 14                                     Break Even: Regain stake.

DC 16                                     Minor Win: Regain stake plus 20%.

DC 18                                     Win: Regain stake plus 50%.

DC 20                                     Big Win: Regain stake plus 100%.

DC 22                                     Jackpot!: Regain stake plus 100%. For each 2 points

The Gold Goblin Job (EL 5)

Although the tournament itself could last until the early morning hours before anyone wins the grand prize, the games are interrupted before reaching their conclusion. When you feel the gambling tournament has gone on long enough, possibly as a player is about to receive the

Devil’s Mark and be escorted from the tournament or as soon as your players have grown tired of the event, proceed with the heist.

Creatures: The culprits attempting this heist are mostly composed of a gang of out-of-towner ruffians led by a Chelish wizard named Angvar Thestlecrit and his Varisian lover Thuvalia, a woman with only one eye. The two lovers are accompanied by a group of four thugs—all six of them have properly registered and take some time playing games and waiting for Saul Vancaskerkin to take a break from the game floor to transfer money from the register into the counting room and night vault. Knowing that it takes Saul several rounds to return through the several locked doors between the gaming floor and the vault, the thugs hope to strike quickly and be gone from the Gold Goblin before Saul can return.

The plan is simple. When Angvar decides to strike, he steps into one of the public lavatories to cast shield on himself and get out his scroll of pyrotechnics. He then peeks out the door and casts message to indicate to Thuvalia that he’s ready to begin the heist. Their four thugs never stray far from Thuvalia’s side, so when she gets the message and “accidentally” drops a handful of gambling chips on the ground, the thugs all see the signal. After that, the heist (in theory) unfolds in the following manner:

Surprise Round: The thugs and Thuvalia close their eyes as Angvar uses his scroll of pyrotechnics. He has to make a DC 4 caster level check to activate the spell (if he fails and then misses the DC 5 Wisdom check, the scroll bursts into flame and targets only Angvar with the effects). Assuming he succeeds, he causes a blinding explosion of fireworks to erupt out of one of the braziers at the far side of the room. The sudden burst blinds everyone in area 2 of the Gold Goblin (save for Thuvalia and the thugs, who have their eyes closed) who fails a DC 13 Will save; the blindness lasts 1d4+1 rounds. Immediately after the fireworks, the thugs draw their swords and Thuvalia uses her bardic music to inspire courage in her allies by loudly orating, “All right, folks! Drop to the ground and don’t try anything stupid and we might let you live!”

Round 1: The four thugs move to intercept any guards who aren’t blinded and make unarmed strikes; the thugs deal nonlethal damage, since they’d rather not complícate matters with murder unless absolutely necessary. Angvar gets out his scroll of shrink item and starts moving toward the center of the room, while Thuvalia casts daze at the closest guard who seems about ready to take action against them. About half of the patrons drop to the ground as ordered, but others begin to panic, convinced they’ve been permanently blinded. Despite Thuvalia’s demand, the thugs take no action against the panicking crowd.

Round 2: The thugs keep moving to intercept guards and using unarmed strikes against them. Angvar reaches the chest containing the 10,000 sp and uses his scroll of shrink item on it. The chest is just under the spell’s limits on what it can affect, but Angvar still needs to make a DC 6 Caster Level check to activate the spell (if he fumbles the spell, it simply fails without any dramatic side-effects). Assuming the spell works, the chest and its 10,000 sp shrink down to a Fine-sized clothlike composition. Thuvalia snatches the chest and starts to make her way to the exit.

Round 3: Thuvalia cries out, “Loot what you will, boys!” as she and Angvar fall back toward the exit. Before he moves, though, Angvar casts open/close on Old Scratch’s cage. The four thugs howl in delight and begin stealing rings, necklaces, and any other obvious pieces of jewelry from any customers who are still blinded.

Round 4: Thugs continue robbing blind patrons. Thuvalia opens the exit door and runs out, followed by Angvar, who slams the doublé door entrance closed. Old Scratch emerges from his cage with a shriek and begins flapping around the room, casting insults to the crowd and using suggestion on one of the thugs to attack one of the guards (or PCs) with lethal force.

Round 5: Angvar casts hold portal on the entrance, and then he and Thuvalia flee into Riddleport with their loot. The thugs, seeing that the patrons are recovering from blindness and that their employer has made their escape route more difficult, abandon the heist and attempt to escape by any means possible. Old Scratch turns invisible and attempts to retreat deeper into the building to hide.

Of course, there are plenty of opportunities for this carefully-planned heist to go sour, either after a scroll misfires, too many guards make their saving throw against the pyrotechnics, or most likely of all, the PCs get involved.

Just before the criminals begin their heist, allow each PC a DC 10 Spot check—those who make the check have a chance to see something suspicious. Each PC who makes the Spot check can attempt a DC 15 Sense Motive check to realice that Thuvalia and the thugs have suddenly become tense and seemed to all close their eyes at once. Any PC who beats the initial Spot check by 10 or more (scoring at least DC 20) also sees Angvar through the mostly closed door to the lavatories as he prepares to use his scroll. Regardless of what the PCs see or realize, anyone who makes the DC 10 Spot check is allowed to roll initiative and act on the surprise round. The criminals attempt to follow their heist plan as long as the PCs don’t interfere, but if the PCs do, they revert to the combat tactics described in their statistics.

Mapa Goblin Dorado (primer combate): http://i61.tinypic.com/r7q29w.jpg

Bodhi Sarvha: http://i57.tinypic.com/2lb2erq.jpg

Dredmor: http://i57.tinypic.com/2qjx1z6.jpg

Mirn Luckrose: http://i61.tinypic.com/2ed5guw.jpg

Mordred: http://i58.tinypic.com/9pm0ie.jpg

Zendr Grant: http://i59.tinypic.com/o55ijp.jpg

Thug Riddleport: http://i62.tinypic.com/sdz4zs.jpg

Martin: http://i61.tinypic.com/2b8fti.jpg

Larur: http://i58.tinypic.com/xn66wx.jpg

Beyar y Hans. Guardias full-time Goblin Dorado. Humanos guerreros nivel 2. FUE - 12, DES - 12, CON - 12. Iniciativa: +1. Short sword +3 (1d6+1/19–20). CMB - +3, CMD - 14. Armadura (cuero tachonado): 14. Puntos de vida: 18.

Larur. Enano Especialista nivel 3. FUE - 14, DES - 12, CON - 14. Iniciativa +1. Puñetazo +5 (1d3+2/20). CMB - +5, CMD - 16.

Desarrollo después del combate:

By the time Vancaskerkin makes his way back out of the vault area (a procedure slowed by the fact that he must pass through several locked doors), the heist should be over—either because the criminals escaped, or more likely, because the PCs and the guards defeated them. The tournament is a failure as bickering and enraged guests loudly demand refunds as they attempt to cash in chips. Vancaskerkin steps up to the central podium and does his best to calm things down, assuring everyone that he’ll let them cash out at 110% chip value. There is much grumbling, but even the staunchest protester realizes this is apt to be a better deal than if they had stayed for the whole tournament. As the surly customers queue up to cash out and begrudgingly depart, most of Vancaskerkin’s staff resign on the spot as well, distraught over the whole event and unwilling to work more for the pittance the man was paying them.

As the action dies down, a grateful Vancaskerkin approaches the PCs. Assuming they had a visible role in defeating the criminals and saving the 10,000 sp, Vancaskerkin owes them a debt. To all appearances now on the verge of ruin, he retains a gleam in his eye and says he can detect the taste of success just around the corner. He asks the PCs if they might stay for awhile to discuss the events of the tournament over drinks while his few remaining loyal employees—Larur Feldin (the floor manager), Hans and Beyar (two guards too loyal to Saul’s pay to abandon him), and Bojask (Saul’s bodyguard—he must first be awakened in his room from a drunken stupor, since he had the night off)—get the place in order. If Angvar was captured or killed, Vancaskerkin recovers the shrunken chest and secures it in area 8. Local gendarmes soon arrive and take any surviving culprits into custody, but not before Vancaskerkin and his men thoroughly loot them (allowing the PCs to do so as well if they so choose).

Questioning Anguar or Thuvalia reveals only that they were hired by an unnamed man on the wharves last month to knock over the upcoming gambling tournament. They were supposed to meet this man later that night on the docks, but anyone who attempts to follow up on this lead is swiftly frustrated since this man doesn’t really exist (see “The Real Saul Vancaskerkin” on page 20). Once the gendarmes arrive, they transport any prisoners to the Overlord’s Citadel, leaving Saul with promises of tracking down any other perpetrators that may have escaped.

An Offer You Can’t Refuse

If the PCs take up Vancaskerkin on his offer, he invites them up to area 24 and asks them to be seated. He has one of his few remaining employees light a roaring fire and bring up a bottle of fine wine (or even a few potions of cure light wounds from a hidden stash if some of the PCs were wounded), after which he toasts the PCs’ bravery and resourcefulness before turning over all valuables found on the looted robbers to the PCs as just rewards for their heroics. He also has Larur Feldin refund their entry fees and cashes out any chips they had at 150% of their value. Once the rewards are handled, he dismisses the help and gets down to business.

Saul Vancaskerkin introduces himself as a former, retired gang leader from the old days of Riddleport, but states matter-of-factly that his life of crime was far from lucrative and in fact cost him his health, his fortune, his family, and his left hand. With his wife dead, his sons exiled, and much of his fortune gone, he took what meager funds he could scrape together and was eventually able to purchase the Gold Goblin, a once-famous gambling hall that had fallen on hard times. He presents himself as too old to relocate or return to a life of crime, and has tried to turn the Gold Goblin into a modestly profitable business venture. Here, he sighs, and confesses that although he no longer considers himself a part of Riddleport’s crime scene, he still has enemies among the city’s criminals who would love to see him ruined. Despite his attempts to “go legit,” he still lives under the ever-present shadow of retribution.

Saul goes on to say that he recognized Angvar as the leader of a group of street toughs he has seen around the casino before. He knows that Angvar and his one-eyed trollop have contracted out to most of the other crimelords in the past, mainly for protection rackets and strong-arm jobs. Saul has considered throwing himself at the mercy of Clegg Zincher or one of the other crime bosses for protection, but is loathe to re-enter that world. It is this situation that prompted him to approach the PCs for aid— with their help, he hopes to avoid further backsliding into his old ways.

Vancaskerkin states that he is impressed with the PCs’ abilities and believes they are just the folks ho can turn around his fortunes. To this end, he offers the PCs a job as specialists and junior partners in the Gold Goblin. He explains that they would work directly for him and assist in the day-to-day running of the establishment, serving as dealers, bouncers, croupiers, or greeters as the roles befit their personalities and skills—but that these roles would in fact be covers for the actual services they’ll provide Saul as bodyguards, messengers, and consultants. Each PC will be paid a regular salary of 10 gp a week as well as a cut of the gambling hall’s weekly profits.

Assuming the PCs agree to the job offer, Vancaskerkin immediately calls his remaining staff together to inform them of the arrangement, then gives the PCs a personal tour of all areas of the facilities except the interior of the vault (area 8) and his rooms (areas 25, 26, and 28). Remember

that the secret door in the floor of area 39 is buried under the sand, so there should be no chance for the PCs to find it or suspect its existence at this time, especially since the goblins kept in the pit make it an unsafe place to visit anyway. As part of the deal, Vancaskerkin also provides the PCs with free lodging, turning area 29 over for their personal use, as well as free board—they can dine with him daily in area 27 free of charge.

Saul Vancaskerkin’s Story

Despite his convincing song and dance, Saul Vancaskerkin is far more than meets the eye, though he buries his lies in half-truths and makes generous use of his Bluff skill to lend his stories an air of believability.

Vancaskerkin avoids revealing too much of his history in Riddleport, but if the PCs dig, they can learn the following with a DC 15 Knowledge (local) or a DC 20 Gather Information check. Saul’s fall from criminal grace is not really as secret as he would like—in his youth, he moved from gang to gang, often selling out an old boss to gain a slightly more favorable position with a new boss. He managed to juggle his complex allegiances between multiple crimelords well, at least until his son Orik was involved in a scandal involving local prostitute Lavendar Lil and an alchemist named Falk. The alchemist’s body turned up in the river, and several witnesses placed Orik in the vicinity at the time. The fact that Orik fled Riddleport for parts unknown did further damage to the Vancaskerkin name, but the major issue was that Falk was the brother of one of Riddleport’s crimelords—Clegg Zincher. Saul tried to get his other son Verik to aid him in covering up some key evidence, but Verik had had enough of his father’s life of crime and fled Riddleport as well to become a member of the Korvosan Guard.

With no allies left but his third wife Bertrida, Saul decided to abandon Riddleport as well, but Zincher was ready for him and cashed in a favor with the Overlord to have Saul’s home surrounded. He hoped to have the gendarmes take Saul into custody, but the plan fell apart when it became apparent that Saul’s house was on fire. The gendarmes managed to stop the fire before it spread, but not before it claimed Bertrida’s life. They caught Saul in a nearby ally trying to flee, and in the inquest to come it became apparent that he’d murdered his own wife and lit his house on fire in a desperate attempt to fake his death and distract the gendarmes long enough to escape Riddleport. The Overlord was not pleased, but at Zincher’s request, Saul’s execution was “downgraded” to heavy fines and a hand. Of course, Zincher wasn’t arguing for mercy— death would have been just that to Saul. Zincher wanted Saul alive but destitute and maimed—alive so he could live for a long time with the repercussions of his family’s role in Falk Zincher’s death.

This much is known to anyone who makes the appropriate Knowledge (local) and Gather Information check, in addition to the fact that, over the past several years, Saul has painstakingly rebuilt his fortune and reputation to the point where he was able to purchase and refurbish the crumbling Gold Goblin game hall. To date, rumors hold that Zincher is watching Saul’s progress, watching and waiting to strike—Zincher himself has publicly stated that “Saul has paid his dues. I bear him no further ill will and wish the man luck in rebuilding what’s left of his life.”

If the PCs use detect evil on Saul and confront him about his alignment, he appears sheepish, claiming that, “a lifetime of crime isn’t so easy to wash away.” He claims to be working on his temper and his vices, and might even beg the PCs to help him keep on the “straight and narrow.” Of course, the fact that Saul is evil shouldn’t really set off too many warning bells, since the vast majority of Riddleport’s most successful businessmen are evil as well.

Yet what none beyond Saul knows is exactly how Vancaskerkin managed to rebuild his fortune, and how despicable his soul truly is.

The Real Saul Vancaskerkin

After he lost his fortune and his hand to Riddleport justice, Vancaskerkin laid low for months, eking out a rough existence on the fringes of town and plotting his revenge. Of course, he counted all of Riddleport’s crimelords his secret enemies, not just Zincher. Saul realized that his glory days were behind him, and it was then that Saul understood the depths to which he had sunk—ruined, shamed, no longer considered even a minor nuisance by his old enemies—and came to the conclusion that the petty vengeance he had been planning would simply not do. What he required was vengeance upon such a scale that all of Riddleport would suffer. All he needed was the right sort of opportunity.

It was in this position of abject despondency and burning desire for revenge that he encountered something out of the very fables and legends of Golarion—an elf woman with skin of blackest night and hair like silver fire. Scouting for surface agents, this drow had watched Saul for some time from Riddleport’s darkest shadows, and deemed that he would be just the tool for her own plots. Too caught up in his own obsession, Saul Vancaskerkin never paused to consider that Depora Azrinae could have been merely using him for her own ends. She fronted him the money with which to purchase an old gambling hall called the Gold Goblin and refurbish it into a profitable business venture. Frightened by his new patron, he eagerly agreed to the stipulation to say nothing of her presence in the city and to avoid unwanted attention. Depora revealed to him that she had made her lair in a series of caverns that can be accessed from an old building near the waterfront, and that she wanted Saul to purchase that building. Whatever he did with it was up to him, but he was to ensure that no one would enter the caves below and thus disturb Depora’s work. Whatever profits Saul’s new purchase created would then be funneled into financing secret shipments of supplies (food, magical components, and even some slaves) to a small island several miles south of Riddleport, all under Depora’s watchful eyes. She allows Saul enough funds to stay comfortable and run the Gold Goblin—this and her promises that his assistance will not be forgotten and that he will soon see all of Riddleport shake under his name have been more than enough to ensure Saul’s cooperation.

Saul does not know the specifics of what Depora is up to but he has seen enough of her wrath to believe what she promises. Unfortunately, with her needs eating away at the revenues generated by the Gold Goblin, Vancaskerkin realized that the establishment was not generating sufficient money to meet her strict quota and that the business once again sank toward insolvency. This desperate situation sparked a mad scheme in his head to generate a quick influx of cash in order to get him back in the black with Depora for the short term, after which he pondered an “accidental” fire to liquidate his investment in the game hall and then collect on some foresighted agreements he made with some local shipping underwriters. In order to get the ball rolling on this scheme, all he needed was some sort of gala event to attract enough folk with full coin purses to the Gold Goblin.

Through several different fences from the Riddleport underworld, Vancaskerkin arranged for a group of thugs to be hired and rob his own gambling tournament without realizing who they were actually working for. All valuables taken from the guests would eventually funnel their way back into Saul’s coffers, and the theft would allow him to keep the 10,000 sp he’d promised to pay the tournament winner. When this plot fell apart at the hands of the PCs, it was conveniently largely untraceable back to him. Even better, the PCs provide him with a new band of muscle that he believes he can use to further his plot to bring about the downfall of Riddleport until their usefulness likewise ends and he has them eliminated as well.

Knowledge
(nature) Check Result
DC 10 The Blot has no known analogy in nature.
DC 15 Birds and flying creatures appear to avoid the air space around the Blot. Although it resembles a dark cloud, the wind seems to have no real affect on it.
DC 21 The movements of the Blot seem to be related to the tides—it is at its largest at high tide and at its smallest at low tide, although periodically, changes in its size seem to occur at random as well.

http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_i...

Venomous Snake    CR 1
XP 400
N Medium animal
Init +5; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +9
Defense
AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 3 (+1 Dex, +3 natural)
hp 13 (2d8+4)
Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +1
Offense
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee bite +2 (1d4–1 plus poison)
Statistics
Str 8, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 1, Wis 13, Cha 2
Base Atk +1; CMB +0; CMD 11 (can’t be tripped)
Feats Improved Initiative, Weapon FinesseB
Skills Acrobatics +9, Climb +9, Perception +9, Stealth +9,
Swim +9; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +4 Stealth, +8
Acrobatics; modifies Climb and Swim with Dexterity
Ecolo gy
Environment any temperate or warm
Organization solitary, pair, or nest (3–8)
Treasure none
Special Abilities
Poison (Ex) Bite—injury; save Fort DC 13;
frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2
Con; cure 1 save.

Beltias Kreun, The Splithog Pauper CR 4
Male human rogue 4
NE Medium humanoid
Init +6; Senses Listen +0, Spot +7
DEFENSE
AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 15
(+2 armor, +3 deflection, +2 Dex)
hp 24 (4d6+8)
Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +1
Defensive Abilities evasion, trap sense +1, uncanny dodge
OFFENSE
Spd 30 ft.
Melee +1 dagger +6 (1d4+1)
Ranged +1 dagger +8 (1d4+1)
Special Attacks sneak attack +2d6
TACTICS
Before Combat Upon spotting opponents, Beltias tries to get one
of his gang members to lead them upstairs where his men can
take care of them. If a battle where he’s outnumbered seems
inevitable, he drinks his potion of shield of faith +3.
During Combat If forced into battle, Beltias fights defensively and
calls for his men to back him up.
Morale If reduced to less than 6 hit points, Beltias throws his
thunderstones and flees for the front door or bell tower.
STATISTICS
Str 8, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 14
Base Atk +3; Grp +2
Feats Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Weapon Finesse
Skills Balance +11, Bluff +9, Climb +6, Disguise +11*, Hide +9,
Knowledge (local) +8, Move Silently +9, Sleight of Hand +11,
Spot +7, Tumble +9
Languages Common, Varisian
SQ trapfinding
Combat Gear potion of shield of faith +3, thunderstones (×4);
Other Gear +1 dagger, leather armor, potion of spider climb,
masterwork thieves’ tools, 178 gp, key to area 14
* Beltais receives a +2 circumstance bonus to his Disguise check
when using his disguise kit in area 14.