Efaarit

Encontros Pendrake

Hardy nomads, efaarit are one of the rare inhabitants of the eastern deserts that might not kill you on sight. The skorne hate them, as they prove intractable slaves. Anything the skorne hate looks pretty amenable to me, but the efaarit are inscrutable. They are as likely to attack an outsider as to request a trade, depending on their recent travails, their mood, and gods know what else. Approach them with caution.

— Viktor Pendrake

The efaarit are a nomadic race that wanders the Blasted Desert. Because they make poor slaves, they have an uneasy relationship with the skorne. A few have been conscripted into skorne service, however, wherein they perform light labor of the sort they would do anyway: scouting, carrying messages, and so forth. This means the occasional group of efaarit makes its way into the western Bloodstone Marches.

This encounter, is for four PCs of 3rd level and takes place in the Bloodstone Marches. The exact location is unimportant, but since the player characters are relatively low-level, place it reasonably near a settlement where they can rest and buy provisions.

This encounter requires the Iron Kingdoms Character Guide and the Monsternomicon Vol. II (in which the efaarit appears on pp. 62–63).

Encounter Background

This encounter occurs in the desert. The PCs come across a single efaarit, and when they are distracted by this lone figure, the rest of the efaarit rise up from the sand around them and attack.

The PCs could be in the Bloodstone Marches for any number of reasons. Similarly, their encounter with the efaarit can be simply random and hostile, but it can be more meaningful if the characters are looking for efaarit and/or if the efaarit have a good reason to attack them. Some ideas include:

• The player characters are scouting for skorne activity in the Bloodstone Marches. They might know of the existence of efaarit; they might even be seeking them, hoping the nomads can provide some information about recent skorne movements.
• At the behest of a government or organization, the PCs are looking for a new source of raw materials — oil being the most likely candidate. The efaarit could attack because they don’t want the player characters (or their masters) to take their resources.
• Someone close to the PCs has disappeared into the desert. Maybe this person did something to anger the efaarit and the PCs are looking to make amends.
• The efaarit hope the player characters can defeat a larger threat. They attack the PCs to make sure these outsiders are strong enough to handle this other danger. They aren’t planning to kill the PCs, just test them.

The War Party (EL 4)

One efaarit appears at the top of a ridge astride his belcher mount. Presumably unknown to the PCs, the rest of the efaarit’s war party hides in the sand and behind the dunes nearby.

When the PCs come within sight of the efaarit, read or paraphrase the text in the callout to the right.

Read Aloud:

A dune rises ahead, and atop the dune stands a lone mounted figure silhouetted against the bright sky. Wind blows the rider’s cloak back, but he only feature you can make out is a pair of goggles, which catch the sun. The figure’s mount has a long neck and stands on two strong, birdlike legs. Its hunched body takes a single step, and it emits an odd belching sound as it catches sight of you.

This efaarit is called Kalsheem, and his purpose is to distract the player characters. Depending on the motives of the PCs and the efaarit, Kalsheem might wish to speak to the PCs (perhaps to gather information before his people attack) or not. This encounter might not even lead to combat. Perhaps the efaarit are simply suspicious of outsiders, and Kalsheem is the first to speak to them (perhaps because of his command of common languages). If the PCs do not seem hostile, Kalsheem bids them good day, and the characters might never be aware that his men were waiting to ambush them.

The characters might, of course, notice the hidden warriors. One remains behind a sand dune atop her belcher. Because she is out of sight she doesn’t need to make a Hide check, though her Move Silently check is unaffected. (She doesn’t move much, however, so she gains a +4 circumstance bonus on this check.)

The other efaarit conceal themselves beneath the sand in camouflage cloaks; these preparations provide them a +8 circumstance bonus on their Hide checks (total bonus +13).

If combat does occur, the efaarit initiate it and rise out of the sand. Read or paraphrase the following:

Read Aloud:

The nomad emits a strange, warbling cry quickly echoed by voices all around you. Dark figures rise from the ground, sand sluicing off their forms. They carry glaives and their expressions are grim. With a shout, another figure barrels around a dune atop one of the strange mounts, her weapon lowered as she charges toward you.

Conditions

The PCs meet the efaarit in the desert in bright daylight — or not, depending on the exact circumstances. In any case, illumination shouldn’t be an issue. There are no walls or other obstacles, so if the PCs ride swift desert mounts they should simply be able to run away. The efaarit deliberately chose this location for an ambush, however, because of several natural features. Steep dunes and shifting sands make for unstable footing. In addition,
the efaarit know that the dunes hide several sinkholes of quicksand.

Shifting Sand

Certain squares marked on the map denote shifting, unstable sand. This is difficult terrain. Note that because of their special sand walk quality, neither efaarit nor belchers suffer movement penalties in these areas.

Sinkholes

Other squares on the map indicate the presence of sinkholes. They appear to be unremarkable areas of sand, but a creature stepping in one is sucked partially beneath — and sinks fast. Since the efaarit know of the sinkholes and their approximate locations, they receive a +4 bonus on their Spot checks (total bonus +6) to notice them and a +4 bonus on their Reflex saves (total bonus +8) to avoid being caught in them.

New Creature — Belcher

Efaarit often ride strange, camel-like beasts. I call them “belchers” because of the noises they make; the efaarit call them olgi’sar.

Much like their riders these creatures are exceptionally hardy, especially in desert environments. They can survive days without food or water. They are omnivores and scavengers, though most of their sustenance comes from the patches of oil they find throughout the eastern deserts. Belchers are some of the rare creatures that drink the liquid.

Belchers aren’t particularly dangerous, especially compared
to the other beasts of the Blasted Desert. They prefer to flee from danger rather than confront it. When the efaarit train them for battle or when they are cornered, they lash out with kicks from their taloned feet. Their small arms are useless in combat; rather, belchers use them to pick choice bits of meat from carcasses. I’ve seen one or two displaying a rudimentary use of tools: poking through loose sand with sticks to find food.

Tactics

The efaarit are accustomed to fighting in the desert and use every advantage they can get. The belcher-mounted efaarit attempt to charge whenever possible, putting their az’tals (see below) to good use. The other efaarit maneuver their opponents into the loose sand to hamper their mobility. Efaarit who spot the sinkholes attempt to maneuver their opponents into them. They prefer to flank and bring down weak characters like sorcerers and gunmages first, using their superior mobility to accomplish this goal.

The efaarit pursue fleeing enemies for 10 rounds before giving up the chase.
The efaarit are dogged opponents, but they are not stupid and have no wish to die. If reduced to 5 or fewer hit points, an efaarit retreats to the edge of battle and uses his sling; if targeted with additional attacks, he flees. If more than half the efaarit have fallen or fled and more than half the PCs are still up, the remaining efaarit surrender.

Remember that, depending on your desires for this encounter, the efaarit might not want to kill their opponents. They might wish simply to test their mettle, or they might want to capture them for some future purpose.

Treasure

One efaarit carriesa potion of cure light wounds while another carries a potion of cure moderate wounds.

Further Adventures

The events in this encounter can lead to other encounters or more detailed adventures. Some possibilities are:

• The PCs defeat the efaarit, but at least one survives. He carries word of these powerful newcomers to his tribe, which might go out of its way to avoid the PCs or to kill them. Word might also reach the skorne, who see able slaves in these untried adventurers.
• If the efaarit capture the PCs, they might do so to press the PCs into service. Perhaps a powerful beast has been preying on the efaarit, and the nomads believe the PCs can defeat it. Alternatively, the efaarit might sell the PCs to the skorne, simply leave them in the desert, or give them a message (from themselves or the skorne) to take back to western civilization.
• A Cygnaran noble hears of the PCs’ battle and is interested — not in the specifics nor in the efaarit, but in the belchers. He wonders if Cygnaran forces might be able to tame and use these creatures, which seem hardier than horses. Perhaps they have an ability to sniff out oil reserves.

Fonte: No Quarter 24

I have learned little of the desert nomads the skorne call “e faarit” that I trust, yet what I have heard gives me hope that more than brutish monsters and cold-souled devils make up the creatures of the east. Kaleda, my jailer — no matter what she would call our relationship — spits whenever I refer to the nomads and insists that I turn my intellect toward more worthy interests. I spent much time fruitlessly investi-gating what those outside the skorne call the tribesfolk, as I’m relatively sure that “efaarit” is a demeaning skorne curse. Kaleda insisted that the nomads make very poor slaves, largely unresponsive to all but the most intensive and damaging condi-tioning, and characterized them only as thieves and murderers.

I’ve only had the opportunity to inspect the corpse of one efaarit briefly. Its short stature and flat features were slightly reminiscent of the skorne yet less severe, and I suspect the race’s genesis more closely coincides with the gobbers of the west. What facts I have gleaned place these nomads at home in the Blasted Desert, a region boiling with highly flammable pools of oil. Regularly set afire by the raging weather of the Stormlands, these oily lakes turn vast expanses into smoking infernos. The efaarit guide their strange, oil drinking mounts called “bletch-ers” through these unimaginable conditions seeking what rare water collects in the region and the starved excuses for animals that dare drink the polluted stuff. Their ability to survive in these conditions, subsisting upon what they can find and capture through raiding, marks their determination and resilience as a race despite the contempt my captors heap upon them.

Combat

Perpetually threatened by deadly environs and savage beasts, efaarits rely on their tribal organization and knowledge of the dangers around them for survival. Untiring and observant, efaarits patiently study their opponents to exploit weaknesses and wear down the unprepared with quick attack.

Legends & Lore
Common: Efaarit are nomads that wander the Blasted Desert.
Generally distrustful, even of their own kind, efaarit greatly fear the skorne, who prefer to slay rather than enslave them.
Uncommon: Some efaarit have a canny ability for calming the otherwise indomitable animals of the east. They might make good guides through the deadly deserts but notoriously betray and rob their allies.
Rare: Efaarit and their mounts largely ignore desert storms and often travel in such conditions to escape pursuing skorne slavers and warriors. Efaarit will also raid skorne encampments during storms, using the weather for concealment while they steal food, water, and weapons.
Obscure: Efaarit have a long if crude oral tradition that traces their history back to the time of Lyoss. Their language, a col-lection of harsh whispering sounds and occasional barking shouts, is very hard to learn, but those who master it would discover a great wealth of untold history of the eastern lands.

Fonte: Monsternomicon Vol.2

Nota do Reduto: Você encontra mais informações sobre Effarit no IK Unleashed — Skorne Empire