The Drow War Book Two. The Dying Of - RoseRed

A note on tactics: The Shadow Troupe is a fast-in,
fast-out group. Its members excel at attacking from
the shadows with surprise, but they are not good at
sustained combat. They prefer to target one person
and overwhelm him rather than move from target to
target. As the assassins say, ‘one dead is better than
two wounded’.
The Troupe is best kept as a recurring threat, not an allor-nothing
assault force. If its initial onslaught fails to
bring a Player Character down, it flees back into the
shadows to regroup and strike again another night. This
may frustrate and infuriate the Player Characters but
they will get plenty of chances to take revenge.
The Troupe members use their summoned shadows
to flank targets, enabling them to use sneak attacks
against opponents. They down potions of fox’s cunning
immediately before assassination attempts, in order to
raise the saving throw DCs of their death attacks.
Non-Player Character Group: The
Shadow Troupe
This gang of enigmatic assassins is under the command
of Brexel (see above, and see page 110 for Brexel’s
statistics). While he conducts his business in the
Halls of Concord, the Troupe members room at the
Flambeau Tavern on the waterfront, taking care of any
jobs that Brexel needs doing. Their last task was to
dispose of Karil Sturvin, the former ambassador. They
assassinated him, weighed down his body and hid it in
the molten moat, then used magical illusions to give
one of their own number his appearance. The disguised
assassin then made a point of insulting everyone he
could on his way to the docks, pretending to be drunk
and belligerent, so that lots of people would see him
leave and remember it.
The Shadow Troupe members make a living as
entertainers, putting on shadow puppet shows and
displays of circus skills. So far they have kept a low
profile in Xoth Sarandi, not wishing to attract too much
attention to themselves.
Skimble, Male Human Brd5/Shd4/Asn1: CR 10;
Medium humanoid; HD 5d6 plus 4d8 plus 1d6; hp 39;
Init +2; Spd 30 ft.; AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15;
Base Atk +6; Grp +6; Atk +10 melee (1d6+2/18–20
plus poison, +2 rapier) or +9 ranged (1d10, masterwork
heavy crossbow); Full Atk +10/+5 melee (1d6+2/18–20
plus poison, +2 rapier) or +9 ranged (1d10, masterwork
heavy crossbow); SA bardic music, countersong,
death attack, fascinate, poison use, shadow illusion,
sneak attack +1d6, spells, summon shadow; SQ bardic
knowledge, darkvision 60 ft., evasion, hide in plain
sight, inspire competence, inspire courage +1, shadow
jump 20 ft., uncanny dodge; AL NE; SV Fort +2, Ref
+12, Will +6; Str 10, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 13, Wis 12,
Cha 15.
Skills & Feats: Balance +4, Bluff +10, Climb +4,
Diplomacy +12, Disguise +6, Escape Artist +6, Gather
Information +4, Hide +12, Jump +8, Knowledge (local)
+5, Listen +3, Move Silently +10, Perform (dance) +11,
Perform (guitar) +16, Sense Motive +7, Sleight of Hand
+7, Tumble +15; Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Mobility,
Skill Focus (Perform (guitar)), Weapon Finesse.
Assassin spells prepared (2, save DC 11 + spell level):
1 st – shield, true strike.
Bard spells known (3/4/2, save DC 12 + spell level):
0 th – dancing lights, detect magic, ghost sound, lullaby,
message, prestidigitation; 1 st – grease, hideous laughter,
undetectable alignment, ventriloquism; 2 nd – eagle’s
splendour, silence, sound burst.
Death Attack: Skimble’s death attack can be countered
by a Fortitude saving throw (DC 12).
Deathblade Poison: Injury DC 20, primary damage 1d6
Con, secondary damage 2d6 Con. One dose has already
been applied to Skimble’s +2 rapier.
Possessions: +2 rapier (poisoned), +2 studded leather
armour, crossbow bolts (10), deathblade poison,
masterwork guitar, masterwork heavy crossbow, potion
of fox’s cunning.
Skimble is the puffy-shirt-wearing musician of the
troupe, who strums tunes for them to dance to and
narrates the puppet shows. He is addicted to female
attention and frequently has to be dragged back (usually
by Belladonna) from chasing after barmaids, female
guards and anyone else who comes within range. He
has tousled chestnut hair, gleaming grey eyes and
stubble that he thinks makes him look dashing.
Belladonna, Female Human Mnk5/Shd4/Asn1: CR
10; Medium humanoid; HD 5d8 plus 1d6 plus 4d8; hp
44; Init +2; Spd 40 ft.; AC 18, touch 18, flat-footed 16;
Base Atk +6; Grp +7; Atk +7 melee (1d8+1, unarmed
strike) or +8 melee (1d6+2, +1 kama) or +11 ranged
(1d2+3, +2 shuriken); Full Atk +7/+2 melee (1d8+1,
unarmed strike) or +6/+6/+1 melee (1d8+1, unarmed
strike) or +8/+3 melee (1d6+1, +1 kama) or +7/+7/+2
melee (1d6+1, +1 kama) or +11/+6 ranged (3d2+3, +2
shuriken) or +10/+10/+5 ranged (1d2+3, +2 shuriken);
Ibon Presno Gonzalez (order #73006) 8
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