Buy me a coffeeWithin the Evil Empire
Crime and Punishment
Author Keith Baker
Series Campaign Style
Publisher Atlas Games
Publish date 2003
Lawful evil tyrants tax the lifesblood from the citizens. Neutral evil sorcerer-princes rule over an oppressed mass of powerless slaves. Chaotic evil warlords pillage the farmers who are merely trying to survive. Against these powerful forces, the people have only one hope – you.
For an interesting challenge, you could use NPC classes instead of core classes; as courtiers and guardsmen, you’ll have to use aristocrats and warriors instead of fighters, rogues, and wizards.
Hiding You Trail
So you and your band of jolly outlaws are setting up shop in the Dark Woods, and you don’t want the earl’s men tracking you to your hideout. Or perhaps you’re plotting a magical attack against the Church of Pain and you’re worried about the mystical senses of the Church inquisitors. Well, there are a number of tricks you can use to help to throw off pursuit.
If you’re in the wilds, pass without trace is the obvious spell of choice – although, if you’ve got the spellpower, flight will certainly do the trick, too. control weather can also be quite useful when it comes to covering tracks. If you don’t have magic at your disposal, you can increase the DC of Survival checks used to track you if you cover your trail.
In an urban community, the most important element in avoiding discovery is to get the local population on your side. Performing heroic deeds and spreading a little money around the community can both help to throw off pursuit; see Chapter Two for complete information on Gather Information and urban tracking. However, sometimes you just don’t have the time to earn the friendship of the townsfolk through noble action. If you know how to canvas an area and have a charismatic tongue, you may be able to convince the locals to lend you a hand.
Finally, in this age of inquisitors, you may have to worry about being tracked down by magical means. The spells Misdirection and nondetection are two highly effective techniques for avoiding unwanted divination. In addition, wizards and sorcerers have developed a wide variety of tools to help them evade mystical detection. While most of these are fairly simple to produce, they will probably be rarely seen in nations that do not deal with inquisitors on a regular basis; if you’re not worried about people using detect magical residue, you don’t really need powder of power. And, of course, if they are too easy to come by, what’s the point of having inquisitors in the first place?