So I've spent most of this year out-of-state, and therefore haven't gotten much time to run my (very intermittent) game of The One Ring. Well, one of my three players is moving to CA, so tonight was our last session. Pity, really, as I had planned on starting up Tales From Wilderland.
I spent as little time as possible tying everything in and getting the players to the Easterly Inn (since I'd already borrowed a lot of stuff from Don't Leave the Path, the idea was to start with Of Leaves and Stewed Hobbit). Unfortunately, getting through the entire adventure in one night was a futile endeavor. Finished up the battle at the Ringfort, but with about a half hour left to play I decided to just cut it off there. One of the players wanted the group to go out in one big fight, another wanted to survive, but because this was going to be our last session for the forseeable future I had a Mountain-Troll stumble upon their camp and it killed them all. Keep in mind that the Dwarf had previously rolled 4 Eyes in a row and I hadn't made good on a single Hazard, so this wasn't even completely outside the realm of fairness.
In any case, I ended the campaign with a feeling of frustration more than anything. The guys in this group aren't really huge Tolkien fans, and they weren't playing to theme all that well. The Dwarf's Treasure Hunter calling was played as a very one-dimensional "all I care about is getting gold!" as if he'd had 4 flaws already. Not ideal in a system where gold is de-emphasized to the extent that it's counted in abstract "treasure points." The Beorning was constantly making un-heroic comments and decisions to the point where I eventually just started throwing Shadow points at him for misdeeds. While I LOVE the system, I don't think I'd recommend playing it with the "wrong" group.
Some end-of-session discussion of the system as a whole occurred afterwards, and while the players enjoyed the game I got the sense that they were ready to move on. They were starting to get up-in-arms about the way that skills were sometimes used; for example, when I told them that they needed to use Stealth to squeeze their way through the tunnel in the Ringfort I got a lot of backlash. They were taking the skill names more literally than the system intends. Stealth is at the intersection of Movement and Wits, and so "moving carefully" can cover maneuvering through a tight space just as much as it can cover moving without being detected. Finally one player said he'd probably be fine with it if they just labeled it differently.
They also mentioned that combat was a little overly simplified for them, but they understood when I reiterated that the system assumes more narrative engagement then they were giving me. I felt the same with skills as well; at one point the Barding said "I'm using Courtesy." I asked "what exactly are you saying?" to which he replied "I don't know, I'm introducing myself in an appropriate way." Perhaps I'm just being spoiled by my Play-by-Post game (which I think the system is really well-suited for).
The biggest complement about the system was the way that Hope worked. Oddly enough, they weren't as keen on Shadow, and I think it's largely because Shadow is dependent on roleplaying the internal struggle of the character which they just weren't interested in doing.
Next week I'm starting up a 13th Age game with this group (so I'll be running 2). I'm think that this group might actually benefit from a few sessions of Dungeon World, but then again that might end up being a disaster.
Showing posts with label TOR-C2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TOR-C2. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Out of Mirkwood
It's been a while, but thanks to a brief respite between out-of-state jobs I was able to run another session of my TOR campaign. Here's a recap of what happened last time. The Fellowship has just gotten through the worst part of their journey, the Mountains of Mirkwood. But the dangers of the forest are still very real, and the remainder of the journey was through lands heavily tainted by the Shadow.
Note that this post contains some minor SPOILERS from Tales from Wilderland. While the adventures are of my own creation, I've lifted some elements from that book.
The Forest Maze
After a day and a half of steadily decreasing elevation, the trees start to become very thick again. All 3 PCs are miserable after the Mountains, and I call for an Awareness test. Lowthesis fails with an Eye of Sauron, gaining his second flaw. Mirkwood is proving to be a very dangerous place for fairly inexperienced characters. Thinking he can hear the clanking of coins behind him, the dwarf turns around to see a chest of gold in a thicket of undergrowth. Ranulf, the only PC to pass his Awareness test, notices that the trees are starting to hem in Grimwine ahead of him, and Lowthesis (now dashing for the treasure) behind (bout of madness). Lowthesis lands with a thud as the illusory treasure wisps away, realizing that the vegetation is moving to hem him in, a shadow hanging among its branches. By now everyone knows what's going on, and rolls a Corruption test. Grimwine fails with an Eye. Yeah. The orc-slayer hears the sound of his hated foes marching ahead (away from his companions), and he hacks his way through the vegetation toward them. Ranulf, meanwhile, is the only one left to desperately try to keep the dwarves together (to no avail, with just a small dagger to slash through vegetation with). Lowthesis tries to Search for gaps in the writhing branches, roots, and vines, but always notices them too late, when they're already closing up. The clearing he's in is constantly moving, as if the trees are corralling him somewhere. The separated companions can soon hear a humming and whistling in amongst the leaves, which weaves itself into a melody. Lowthesis and Grimwine use Riddle to decipher the eerie song's meaning, Grimwine failing and Lowthesis realizing that the melody predicts the movement of the plants (allowing him to predict gaps and force his way out). Ranulf sings along with the song, trying to understand it, realizing that he can pick up on the emotions that the trees are communicating to each other.
Grimwine simply muscles his way forward toward the orcs, eventually breaking out into a narrow stone path that leads to a clearing with a well in the center. I used the well from Don't Leave the Path (Tales from Wilderland) for this scene, so SPOILERS will follow. He can hear what sounds like an orc lair in the well, and after suffering some taunts from them he jumps in after them. Meanwhile Lowthesis makes it out of the maze, using Explore to orient himself. While walking back roughly toward the path, his mind grows increasingly occupied by the thought of treasure which he's sure is nearby. He too comes upon a well, with a glint of gold shining from within. He jumps in.
Ranulf begins singing in opposition to the trees, a counter song which neutralizes their attempts to enclose him, and also gives him insight into the malevolent spirit in the center of the maze. He senses that it's claimed two of his companions, and rushes toward it. When Lowthesis and Grimwine enter the well, Ranulf is hit with a flash of the spirit's triumph and knows which direction to head. When he reaches the well he sees Grimwine and Lowthesis both approaching it, apparently completely unaware of each other, and then both of his companions jumps in. The sight is following by a sick squelching noise coming from within the well, as of mud being sucked through a vacuum. Ranulf rushes forward. Upon hitting the bottom of the well Grimwine and Lowthesis break free of their madness and realize what's going on. The well's tentacles attack all 3 companions, seizing Grimwine and later strangling him with a massive amount of force (if I remember correctly, I rolled an extraordinary success here). Ranulf aims at a tentacle with his bow, and then fails with an Eye of Sauron. Yes, the entire fellowship suffered a bout of madness already, and Ranulf's caused him to simply walk away from the battle with disinterest, finally succumbing to the creature's spell. Lowthesis landed a rare hit on the tentacle that was gripping Grimwine (extraordinary success for massive damage), severing the tentacle and freeing the Beorning. As the two fought bravely in the well, Ranulf heard footsteps running toward him out of the forest. Balin and Dwalin had found him, and hearing Grimwine's scream asked what was going on. Dwalin slapped Ranulf out of his stupor, and the Barding and Dwarves helped finish the monster off.
The fellowship spent a day searching for and locating Ori and Oin, and then the rest of the journey through Mirkwood proved uneventful. They met up with Gimli in the Long Marshes, and then headed north toward Esgaroth.
Fellowship Phase
Each companion spent theirs in a different city: Grimwine in Esgaroth, Lowthesis in Erebor, and Ranulf in Dale. The PCs each independently pursued the Meet Patron undertaking. Lowthesis spent a lot of time in Erebor's Chamber of Mazarbul looking for leads on where to find treasure. He came to know the expert scholar in that field, a dwarf by the name of Regin, very well. Grimwine searched for a sparring partner in Esgaroth, and ended up meeting the Beorning mercenary Gerold (from Tales from Wilderland). The two trained together extensively during the ensuing months (justification for Grimwine buying another rank in Axes with his experience). Ranulf hung out around the Merchant's Quarter of Dale, just looking for excuses to travel afield to new lands. He spent a lot of time at the tavern with Keilbrun, a retired merchant who still worked the streets of Dale but was too old to travel far enough to acquire any valuable items.
The players were all upset with how expensive it was to gain new ranks with attribute points, but it's starting to make sense to me. Experience cost tends to be cheaper because everyone needs Valour, Wisdom, and Weapon skills. Moreover, Rewards and Virtues represent interesting choices for characters to make. These things are the primary measure of a character's power level. If Common Skills increased at this rate, it would be too easy for characters to just be good across the board at everything. Making advancement points work more slowly maintains the level of specialization within the fellowship. The side effect of this is that I'm less thrilled about so many of a character's skill ranks being determined by culture.
The Gathering of Five Armies
The month of November saw the city of Dale preparing for the upcoming festivities. With lodging being increasingly harder to come up, Grimwine took up residence at Ranulf's home. The fields around the city became a tent suburbia, and Gandalf showed up again, always in too big a hurry to provide any details of his adventures dealing with the Nazgul.
Gerold was training for the upcoming Contests, and filled Grimwine in on the details (minor SPOILERS from The Crossings of Celduin follow). The PCs were all eager to enter the Contests themselves, with Ranulf being eliminated in the second qualification round for both Archery and Horseback Riding, and Lowthesis losing in the first round of both Strength and Horseback Riding (the latter was entered just out of spite, and he ended up embarrassing himself spectacularly for the second time that day). Grimwine just entered the Strength contest, but made it all the way to the Final Round where he lost to Gerold. I ruled that it was good enough to get into the Grand Melee, and he lasted through the first 2 waves of enemies quite handily. Finally it was down to just a few warriors, with the group of dwarves being too distant to engage, and a choice between facing down Gerold or Elstan. Grimwine charged toward Gerold while Elstan, seeing this, lead his troupe toward the dwarves. Once again, Gerold whooped him good. His Terrible Strength ability gives him a pretty big advantage, though Grimwine did beat him earlier when we played out their initial sparring match during the Fellowship Phase. Elstan ended up victorious, and Ranulf lead the crowd with a spectacular Song roll celebrating his victory.
With Grimwine unconscious (and Lowthesis moping in his room back in the Lonely Mountain after the previous day's failures), Ranulf was the only PC to see Gandalf approach the crowd, frantically looking for someone. When Gandalf spotted Ranulf, he sent him to gather Lowthesis while he grabbed the fatigued Grimwine; he had a mission for them. Ranulf and Lowthesis soon met Gandalf, Grimwine, and Elstan in front of the fountain of Smaug's Fall outside the Royal Palace.
It was here that we ended this session. Unfortunately, we won't be able to resume the campaign until December, but I'm still glad that we got this one session in.
Note that this post contains some minor SPOILERS from Tales from Wilderland. While the adventures are of my own creation, I've lifted some elements from that book.
The Forest Maze
After a day and a half of steadily decreasing elevation, the trees start to become very thick again. All 3 PCs are miserable after the Mountains, and I call for an Awareness test. Lowthesis fails with an Eye of Sauron, gaining his second flaw. Mirkwood is proving to be a very dangerous place for fairly inexperienced characters. Thinking he can hear the clanking of coins behind him, the dwarf turns around to see a chest of gold in a thicket of undergrowth. Ranulf, the only PC to pass his Awareness test, notices that the trees are starting to hem in Grimwine ahead of him, and Lowthesis (now dashing for the treasure) behind (bout of madness). Lowthesis lands with a thud as the illusory treasure wisps away, realizing that the vegetation is moving to hem him in, a shadow hanging among its branches. By now everyone knows what's going on, and rolls a Corruption test. Grimwine fails with an Eye. Yeah. The orc-slayer hears the sound of his hated foes marching ahead (away from his companions), and he hacks his way through the vegetation toward them. Ranulf, meanwhile, is the only one left to desperately try to keep the dwarves together (to no avail, with just a small dagger to slash through vegetation with). Lowthesis tries to Search for gaps in the writhing branches, roots, and vines, but always notices them too late, when they're already closing up. The clearing he's in is constantly moving, as if the trees are corralling him somewhere. The separated companions can soon hear a humming and whistling in amongst the leaves, which weaves itself into a melody. Lowthesis and Grimwine use Riddle to decipher the eerie song's meaning, Grimwine failing and Lowthesis realizing that the melody predicts the movement of the plants (allowing him to predict gaps and force his way out). Ranulf sings along with the song, trying to understand it, realizing that he can pick up on the emotions that the trees are communicating to each other.
Grimwine simply muscles his way forward toward the orcs, eventually breaking out into a narrow stone path that leads to a clearing with a well in the center. I used the well from Don't Leave the Path (Tales from Wilderland) for this scene, so SPOILERS will follow. He can hear what sounds like an orc lair in the well, and after suffering some taunts from them he jumps in after them. Meanwhile Lowthesis makes it out of the maze, using Explore to orient himself. While walking back roughly toward the path, his mind grows increasingly occupied by the thought of treasure which he's sure is nearby. He too comes upon a well, with a glint of gold shining from within. He jumps in.
Ranulf begins singing in opposition to the trees, a counter song which neutralizes their attempts to enclose him, and also gives him insight into the malevolent spirit in the center of the maze. He senses that it's claimed two of his companions, and rushes toward it. When Lowthesis and Grimwine enter the well, Ranulf is hit with a flash of the spirit's triumph and knows which direction to head. When he reaches the well he sees Grimwine and Lowthesis both approaching it, apparently completely unaware of each other, and then both of his companions jumps in. The sight is following by a sick squelching noise coming from within the well, as of mud being sucked through a vacuum. Ranulf rushes forward. Upon hitting the bottom of the well Grimwine and Lowthesis break free of their madness and realize what's going on. The well's tentacles attack all 3 companions, seizing Grimwine and later strangling him with a massive amount of force (if I remember correctly, I rolled an extraordinary success here). Ranulf aims at a tentacle with his bow, and then fails with an Eye of Sauron. Yes, the entire fellowship suffered a bout of madness already, and Ranulf's caused him to simply walk away from the battle with disinterest, finally succumbing to the creature's spell. Lowthesis landed a rare hit on the tentacle that was gripping Grimwine (extraordinary success for massive damage), severing the tentacle and freeing the Beorning. As the two fought bravely in the well, Ranulf heard footsteps running toward him out of the forest. Balin and Dwalin had found him, and hearing Grimwine's scream asked what was going on. Dwalin slapped Ranulf out of his stupor, and the Barding and Dwarves helped finish the monster off.
The fellowship spent a day searching for and locating Ori and Oin, and then the rest of the journey through Mirkwood proved uneventful. They met up with Gimli in the Long Marshes, and then headed north toward Esgaroth.
Fellowship Phase
Each companion spent theirs in a different city: Grimwine in Esgaroth, Lowthesis in Erebor, and Ranulf in Dale. The PCs each independently pursued the Meet Patron undertaking. Lowthesis spent a lot of time in Erebor's Chamber of Mazarbul looking for leads on where to find treasure. He came to know the expert scholar in that field, a dwarf by the name of Regin, very well. Grimwine searched for a sparring partner in Esgaroth, and ended up meeting the Beorning mercenary Gerold (from Tales from Wilderland). The two trained together extensively during the ensuing months (justification for Grimwine buying another rank in Axes with his experience). Ranulf hung out around the Merchant's Quarter of Dale, just looking for excuses to travel afield to new lands. He spent a lot of time at the tavern with Keilbrun, a retired merchant who still worked the streets of Dale but was too old to travel far enough to acquire any valuable items.
The players were all upset with how expensive it was to gain new ranks with attribute points, but it's starting to make sense to me. Experience cost tends to be cheaper because everyone needs Valour, Wisdom, and Weapon skills. Moreover, Rewards and Virtues represent interesting choices for characters to make. These things are the primary measure of a character's power level. If Common Skills increased at this rate, it would be too easy for characters to just be good across the board at everything. Making advancement points work more slowly maintains the level of specialization within the fellowship. The side effect of this is that I'm less thrilled about so many of a character's skill ranks being determined by culture.
The Gathering of Five Armies
The month of November saw the city of Dale preparing for the upcoming festivities. With lodging being increasingly harder to come up, Grimwine took up residence at Ranulf's home. The fields around the city became a tent suburbia, and Gandalf showed up again, always in too big a hurry to provide any details of his adventures dealing with the Nazgul.
Gerold was training for the upcoming Contests, and filled Grimwine in on the details (minor SPOILERS from The Crossings of Celduin follow). The PCs were all eager to enter the Contests themselves, with Ranulf being eliminated in the second qualification round for both Archery and Horseback Riding, and Lowthesis losing in the first round of both Strength and Horseback Riding (the latter was entered just out of spite, and he ended up embarrassing himself spectacularly for the second time that day). Grimwine just entered the Strength contest, but made it all the way to the Final Round where he lost to Gerold. I ruled that it was good enough to get into the Grand Melee, and he lasted through the first 2 waves of enemies quite handily. Finally it was down to just a few warriors, with the group of dwarves being too distant to engage, and a choice between facing down Gerold or Elstan. Grimwine charged toward Gerold while Elstan, seeing this, lead his troupe toward the dwarves. Once again, Gerold whooped him good. His Terrible Strength ability gives him a pretty big advantage, though Grimwine did beat him earlier when we played out their initial sparring match during the Fellowship Phase. Elstan ended up victorious, and Ranulf lead the crowd with a spectacular Song roll celebrating his victory.
With Grimwine unconscious (and Lowthesis moping in his room back in the Lonely Mountain after the previous day's failures), Ranulf was the only PC to see Gandalf approach the crowd, frantically looking for someone. When Gandalf spotted Ranulf, he sent him to gather Lowthesis while he grabbed the fatigued Grimwine; he had a mission for them. Ranulf and Lowthesis soon met Gandalf, Grimwine, and Elstan in front of the fountain of Smaug's Fall outside the Royal Palace.
It was here that we ended this session. Unfortunately, we won't be able to resume the campaign until December, but I'm still glad that we got this one session in.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Session Summary: The Old Forest Road
We finally got to play again two weeks after our big cliffhanger (sort of) during the last session. I should note that this summary will contain some spoilers from Tales From Wilderland, so if your group is planning on playing through the adventures in that book then avoid reading the sections marked as spoilers. Essentially what I've done is taken some elements from the first adventure, which is a journey down the Elf-path, and transplanted them onto the Old Forest Road. Again, such spoilers will be clearly marked.
The Nazgul has been chased off, but the party is now on their own, without the talents of a Wizard to fall back on. Lowthesis being the only member of the company to resist falling into a swoon from the Black Breath, he watched over everyone else around a small campfire until they recovered. Even after regaining consciousness they were quite drained, and so decided to remain at this camp to recuperate a bit. Two lookouts were now posted while the others rested.
Dreams
The company was plagued by nightmares while they slept. The details are as follows:
Lowthesis decides to join the other Dwarves, not bothering to wake his human companions. This sounds like Dwarven business, after all. As he approaches he learns that Balin is eager to press on and search for the pony. They still have a mission to accomplish, after all, and he doesn't want to return to his king as a coward. Dwalin and Oin are both less sure of the wisdom of continuing onward, as they'd planned on having Gandalf's assistance and they've already encountered a Nazgul; who knows what other evil creatures lurk amongst these trees? Ori is quiet, and seemingly undecided. Lowthesis is eager to press on as well, not being one to back out of a challenge (Bold), and tries to Inspire the others. He convinces Ori that Balin's is the better course of action, and while Dwalin and Oin still have their doubts, they will accept the majority vote and follow their leader.
Mirkwood's Western Eaves
The argument resumes in the morning when Ranulf and Grimwine wake up. Grimwine is ready to go, but Ranulf voices his doubts and advocates strongly that they turn back. Lowthesis ends the discussion by reminding him that this has already been decided last night, and that he can go back by himself if he so desires. Ranulf grudgingly follows.
Ori and Grimwine scout out ahead to look for the pony. After following his tracks to a point where the stop, with signs of a scuffle, Grimwine determines that the pony was eaten and that they should turn back and tell the others. [LM note: the pony was captured, yes, but was still alive wrapped up in a web nearby. I never described any blood splatters or anything, and honestly I expected Grimwine to try a little harder. Oh well, that's just fewer supplies that they have now, and they're suffering more Fatigue because of it]. The remaining week in the western eaves of Mirkwood are relatively uneventful, though several ruins are discovered and explored. Low on water, the party is quite thrilled to discover and old well, though after lowering down a bucket it's obvious that something metallic is down there. Ranulf lowers himself down to investigate, and finds an old skeleton covered in spider webs. An elven dagger lies on the corpse's lap, with no webs around the dagger's perimeter. Ranulf finds that the dagger cuts webs like butter, and cuts off a broach with an unfamiliar family crest from the tattered remains of clothing. [LM note: There were some other goodies in this area, but nobody found them]. A larger ruin of a small village was discovered a few days later, and it appeared to be some kind of trade center based on the numbers of different coins present. Some representatives included old Elven and Dwarven coins, as well as unfamiliar old coins with Dalish runes, and coins with horses on them. More treasure points were acquired. The first treasure found was a chest located by Ranulf, though he couldn't unlock it and called Lowthesis in to assist him. Lowthesis easily opened the chest, but claimed all of the treasure inside for himself (earning a Shadow point since a cut of that loot was rightfully Ranulf's; he's definitely living up to his "Grasping" flaw). The final ruins encountered was the wall of a large waystation, and atop it was a large boulder carved in the likeness of the Eye of Sauron. Lowthesis and Grimwine devised a lever that they used to topple the abominable carving (incurring Shadow points for approaching it), and by doing so allowed everyone else to pass by without making Corruption tests. Lowthesis may be greedy, but that doesn't mean he can't also be heroic.
The Mountains of Mirkwood
The players seemed to go out of their way to surprise me here. As the elevation increased and the terrain became more rocky, the forest soon became dominated by dark, twisted fir trees. Early on this leg of the journey a gorge was encountered with a 40 foot span, and a raging river 200 ft. below. A ruined bridge crossed over the gorge along the road, but about halfway across a large chunk had fallen off so that by the far end it narrowed to only 3 feet wide. [LM note: I fully intended for the party to head upstream to find a way around this gorge]. Lowthesis wanted to make a rope bridge across the chasm, but it meant that someone had to cross on the bridge first (at least to test its stability). The Adventurous Ranulf volunteered, and roped off though he was it was obvious that the bridge was unstable, and an unsuccessful Stealth roll made it obvious that he wasn't able to cross it. Thinking he could do better, Grimwine roped himself up and got an extraordinary success on his Stealth roll (easily an AP thanks to his Bold trait). I had him get nearly to the end, and then said that the only way further was to attempt a jump to the other side; I was quite clear that this was a one-shot deal, that a great roll was needed, and that a failure would most likely result in death. [LM note: this is usually a good way of telling your players "I'm not going to stop you, but this isn't a very good idea.] I think he had to blow a point of hope, but he ended up passing the daunting difficulty and made it safely to the other side, collapsing the ruined section of the bridge in the process.
Two days after this a torrential thunderstorm appeared out of nowhere, and Ranulf after heading out to find shelter encountered a hollowed-out tree with a plume of smoke coming from it. He called everyone else there, and after squeezing inside it became obvious that someone was living in here. Grimwine took some pheasant meat (he'd bagged them the previous day) and started cooking it on the fire, and soon they heard a scratching outside and a head poked in. The hermit was extremely surprised, and couldn't be quelled by Ranulf's botched attempt to courteously calm him down (too bad the Tolerance was only 1 here). Refusing to listen to reason and shouting about how he wouldn't be taken back he started stabbing his spear at Grimwine. Grimwine was starting to grow extremely angry, but a lucky hit (coupled with Grimwine's extremely low Endurance) knocked him out. Lowthesis was the next target of the Hermit's ire, having previously tried to wrench the spear from his grasp, but it was ultimately Ranulf who was able to restrain him. The hermit flung insults at Lowthesis, betraying his contempt for Dwarves by comparing them with orcs (though my personal favorite improvised insult was "may your beard become infested with insects!"). Lowthesis tried to offer him some treasure in exchange for letting them stay here, but he shouted about how the Shadow lives in things and would consume them all. Finally the hermit was placated by a promise to leave his "house" if he didn't attack them when they untied him. Grimwine's player admitted that if he'd been conscious he would have killed the hermit, Shadow be damned.
END OF SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!
The rain continued on for several days, and soon the company came upon a roaring stream, flooded by the recent downpours. Ranulf constructed a boat (Boating and Woodright), but as he came close to the water he began to feel drowsy as the spray hit his skin. The Dwarves warned the company to avoid the water, because they didn't want to carry anyone around like they had to for Bombur! After plans to swing Tarzan-style across with rope didn't pan out (partially due to the extreme reluctance of Lowthesis to attempt such an insane maneuver), Grimwine concentrated on felling trees to make a bridge across. He got some high enough to avoid the spray, but when Ranulf attempt the crossing he failed (despite help from a rope handrail), falling into the stream (as well as a deep, deep sleep). Ultimately Grimwine conceded to go along with the plan that Lowthesis had advocated all along; to simply wait until the water levels went down. After 4 days (2D6) they were able to boat across, and Ranulf woke up shortly afterwards.
The next few days were some of the worst of their entire journey. I didn't go into specific detail, instead simply reading this short description:
Nobody triggered any hazards so I simply left it at that, except for the 2 Fatigue tests at TN 20 and the 6 Corruption tests (only Ranulf passed some of these, and only 2). So now everyone is good and miserable (as they should be after trekking across the Mountains of Mirkwood). The players objected strongly to this many corruption tests, so I revealed that I was going easy on them, and that by the original (un-clarified) version of RAW (rules as written), a journey across Mirkwood would take 40 or 50 something corruption tests. The Shadow's been banished (for now), so while there are still some strongly blighted places in the forest I figured the Road is as safe as it'll ever be until after the end of the War of the Ring.
And this is where we left off for now. The company has made it through the worst of what Mirkwood has to offer, but the northeastern edge of the Heart of Mirkwood still remains, as well as the Long Marshes (where they're scheduled to meet Oin's nephew, Gimli).
The Nazgul has been chased off, but the party is now on their own, without the talents of a Wizard to fall back on. Lowthesis being the only member of the company to resist falling into a swoon from the Black Breath, he watched over everyone else around a small campfire until they recovered. Even after regaining consciousness they were quite drained, and so decided to remain at this camp to recuperate a bit. Two lookouts were now posted while the others rested.
Dreams
The company was plagued by nightmares while they slept. The details are as follows:
Grimwine:
Two
bears, one of average size and one extremely large walk along the
bank of a swiftly-flowing river under a clear night sky. A light
frost crunches underfoot. At a fork in the path ahead the smaller
bear without thinking about it heads down the path ahead toward a
towering mountain. Upset, the larger bear cuffs him and turns down
the other fork, to the left. When the smaller bear doesn't follow,
the larger runs back and fights more violently with the smaller bear.
Before the conflict is resolved the scene fades to darker thoughts
of trees and spiders, and one nightmare after another bleeds into the
next.
Ranulf:
King
Bard sits alone on his throne, a look of despair on his face. You
call out his name but he doesn't answer. Hearing a clamor of angry
voices outside you slowly walk over to an open window, when all of
the sudden the shaft of sunlight disappears as the day turns
instantly to night. South of the Royal Palace you see that some of
Dale's buildings appear to be on fire, and Elves and Dwarves fight
openly with each other in the streets while Bardings barricade
themselves in the intact buildings. Your remaining dreams are
dominated by frantic searching, though you cannot remember where.
Lowthesis:
You
can feel the oars you hold cut across the still water of Esgaroth,
the Long Lake, and you admire your home, the Lonely Mountain, in the
distance. You soon find your self inexplicably deep in the
Mountain's winding halls, focused intently on the burning forge
before you. This is a joy you've long been deprived of, but it's
soon cut short. Your thoughts turn to a great jewel, skillfully
carved, and you hear muffled shouts, curses, and threats. As the
shouts become clearer your vision of the jewel becomes more and more
blurred. You suddenly find yourself startled awake as the jewel
fades to nothingness. Ranulf and Grimwine twitch uneasily in their
sleep nearby. On the other side of the fire you can hear the four
Dwarves all awake, softly arguing in the Dwarven tongue. The mood is
tense and secretive.
Lowthesis decides to join the other Dwarves, not bothering to wake his human companions. This sounds like Dwarven business, after all. As he approaches he learns that Balin is eager to press on and search for the pony. They still have a mission to accomplish, after all, and he doesn't want to return to his king as a coward. Dwalin and Oin are both less sure of the wisdom of continuing onward, as they'd planned on having Gandalf's assistance and they've already encountered a Nazgul; who knows what other evil creatures lurk amongst these trees? Ori is quiet, and seemingly undecided. Lowthesis is eager to press on as well, not being one to back out of a challenge (Bold), and tries to Inspire the others. He convinces Ori that Balin's is the better course of action, and while Dwalin and Oin still have their doubts, they will accept the majority vote and follow their leader.
Mirkwood's Western Eaves
The argument resumes in the morning when Ranulf and Grimwine wake up. Grimwine is ready to go, but Ranulf voices his doubts and advocates strongly that they turn back. Lowthesis ends the discussion by reminding him that this has already been decided last night, and that he can go back by himself if he so desires. Ranulf grudgingly follows.
Ori and Grimwine scout out ahead to look for the pony. After following his tracks to a point where the stop, with signs of a scuffle, Grimwine determines that the pony was eaten and that they should turn back and tell the others. [LM note: the pony was captured, yes, but was still alive wrapped up in a web nearby. I never described any blood splatters or anything, and honestly I expected Grimwine to try a little harder. Oh well, that's just fewer supplies that they have now, and they're suffering more Fatigue because of it]. The remaining week in the western eaves of Mirkwood are relatively uneventful, though several ruins are discovered and explored. Low on water, the party is quite thrilled to discover and old well, though after lowering down a bucket it's obvious that something metallic is down there. Ranulf lowers himself down to investigate, and finds an old skeleton covered in spider webs. An elven dagger lies on the corpse's lap, with no webs around the dagger's perimeter. Ranulf finds that the dagger cuts webs like butter, and cuts off a broach with an unfamiliar family crest from the tattered remains of clothing. [LM note: There were some other goodies in this area, but nobody found them]. A larger ruin of a small village was discovered a few days later, and it appeared to be some kind of trade center based on the numbers of different coins present. Some representatives included old Elven and Dwarven coins, as well as unfamiliar old coins with Dalish runes, and coins with horses on them. More treasure points were acquired. The first treasure found was a chest located by Ranulf, though he couldn't unlock it and called Lowthesis in to assist him. Lowthesis easily opened the chest, but claimed all of the treasure inside for himself (earning a Shadow point since a cut of that loot was rightfully Ranulf's; he's definitely living up to his "Grasping" flaw). The final ruins encountered was the wall of a large waystation, and atop it was a large boulder carved in the likeness of the Eye of Sauron. Lowthesis and Grimwine devised a lever that they used to topple the abominable carving (incurring Shadow points for approaching it), and by doing so allowed everyone else to pass by without making Corruption tests. Lowthesis may be greedy, but that doesn't mean he can't also be heroic.
The Mountains of Mirkwood
The players seemed to go out of their way to surprise me here. As the elevation increased and the terrain became more rocky, the forest soon became dominated by dark, twisted fir trees. Early on this leg of the journey a gorge was encountered with a 40 foot span, and a raging river 200 ft. below. A ruined bridge crossed over the gorge along the road, but about halfway across a large chunk had fallen off so that by the far end it narrowed to only 3 feet wide. [LM note: I fully intended for the party to head upstream to find a way around this gorge]. Lowthesis wanted to make a rope bridge across the chasm, but it meant that someone had to cross on the bridge first (at least to test its stability). The Adventurous Ranulf volunteered, and roped off though he was it was obvious that the bridge was unstable, and an unsuccessful Stealth roll made it obvious that he wasn't able to cross it. Thinking he could do better, Grimwine roped himself up and got an extraordinary success on his Stealth roll (easily an AP thanks to his Bold trait). I had him get nearly to the end, and then said that the only way further was to attempt a jump to the other side; I was quite clear that this was a one-shot deal, that a great roll was needed, and that a failure would most likely result in death. [LM note: this is usually a good way of telling your players "I'm not going to stop you, but this isn't a very good idea.] I think he had to blow a point of hope, but he ended up passing the daunting difficulty and made it safely to the other side, collapsing the ruined section of the bridge in the process.
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR DON'T LEAVE THE PATH!!!!
A few days after the incident at the bridge I had Balin go down to a stream to fetch water as the company was making camp. They all heard a "yelp!" and Ranulf and Grimwine rushed down to see what happened (one of the two, I think Grimwine, noticed that Balin had left his axe at camp). They found muddy Dwarf tracks followed by a set of spider tracks, both of which led to two trees with broken strands of webbing between them. Grimwine shouted for everyone to follow him, and he proceeded to track for several hours in the dark. Finally they came to a moonlit clearing, in the middle of which stood a ruined castle covered with spider webs. The defensive walls and outbuildings had long since crumbled to the ground, but a single tower still stood, as well as two sections of the keep's wall which formed an L-shape, above which was suspended a wriggling mass of webbing (Balin). Ranulf used his dagger to cut some webs off of the wall, noticing that the blade was glowing blue. When he climbed higher to continue cutting webs, he failed his roll and fell to the ground, sustaining some endurance damage and cracking a rib (failed protection test resulted in a wound). Grimwine tried next, but luck was against him and he too fell and was wounded. Ranulf then proceeded to tie a large knot in the end of his rope and toss it up the wall to stick onto the webbing. The impact caused the webs to vibrate, and Ranulf's dagger to glow brighter blue. First one spider jumped down amongst them, though it was easily dispatched by Grimwine in one hit. One of the players asked "do you think there'll be more of them?" to which Oin replied "there's always more." Using the general guidelines in Tales from Wilderland I had an increasing number of spiders appear each round, though in rounds 4 and 5 I substituted an attercop for a great spider. Several companions and Dwarves (I had each player running one of the Dwarves in combat) ended up ensnared by spider webs. My misinterpretation of the poisoning rules almost resulted in an insta-death for Grimwine, until I went back through the rules and realized that a player needs to roll an Eye to trigger a called shot (I had the called shot trigger off of the monster's Eye roll). The stalwart Beorning was still on the ground dying, even if he wasn't dead-dead, and Ori did get poisoned. Again this group demonstrated its reluctance to back down from a fight, so after both great spiders were killed (even despite Holding Spells on Grimwine, which was moot now, and Lowthesis) I had the remaining attercops flee. By the end of the fight 11 attercops and the 2 great spiders were dead, so I just had one of the survivors hiss "dinner isn't worth this!" Aside from opening volleys Ranulf didn't really get a single attack in, spending all of his actions to either cut allies loose from the webbing with his spiffy new dagger, or singing his battle chants to restore their endurance. The company quickly rescued Balin (and Ori, who had been dragged up the wall after succumbing to the poison's paralysis), constructed a quick stretcher for Grimwine, and then booked it out of there.
Two days after this a torrential thunderstorm appeared out of nowhere, and Ranulf after heading out to find shelter encountered a hollowed-out tree with a plume of smoke coming from it. He called everyone else there, and after squeezing inside it became obvious that someone was living in here. Grimwine took some pheasant meat (he'd bagged them the previous day) and started cooking it on the fire, and soon they heard a scratching outside and a head poked in. The hermit was extremely surprised, and couldn't be quelled by Ranulf's botched attempt to courteously calm him down (too bad the Tolerance was only 1 here). Refusing to listen to reason and shouting about how he wouldn't be taken back he started stabbing his spear at Grimwine. Grimwine was starting to grow extremely angry, but a lucky hit (coupled with Grimwine's extremely low Endurance) knocked him out. Lowthesis was the next target of the Hermit's ire, having previously tried to wrench the spear from his grasp, but it was ultimately Ranulf who was able to restrain him. The hermit flung insults at Lowthesis, betraying his contempt for Dwarves by comparing them with orcs (though my personal favorite improvised insult was "may your beard become infested with insects!"). Lowthesis tried to offer him some treasure in exchange for letting them stay here, but he shouted about how the Shadow lives in things and would consume them all. Finally the hermit was placated by a promise to leave his "house" if he didn't attack them when they untied him. Grimwine's player admitted that if he'd been conscious he would have killed the hermit, Shadow be damned.
The rain continued on for several days, and soon the company came upon a roaring stream, flooded by the recent downpours. Ranulf constructed a boat (Boating and Woodright), but as he came close to the water he began to feel drowsy as the spray hit his skin. The Dwarves warned the company to avoid the water, because they didn't want to carry anyone around like they had to for Bombur! After plans to swing Tarzan-style across with rope didn't pan out (partially due to the extreme reluctance of Lowthesis to attempt such an insane maneuver), Grimwine concentrated on felling trees to make a bridge across. He got some high enough to avoid the spray, but when Ranulf attempt the crossing he failed (despite help from a rope handrail), falling into the stream (as well as a deep, deep sleep). Ultimately Grimwine conceded to go along with the plan that Lowthesis had advocated all along; to simply wait until the water levels went down. After 4 days (2D6) they were able to boat across, and Ranulf woke up shortly afterwards.
The next few days were some of the worst of their entire journey. I didn't go into specific detail, instead simply reading this short description:
It's a dark section of the
wood surrounded by knife-edged rocky ridges. The talus from these
cliffs has carpeted the ground in razor-edged shards and gravel, and
a slight thinning of the tree canopy has encouraged the growth of
stiff shrubs covered in 3-inch thorns. The howling of wargs has
become a regular occurrence, and the occasional giant spiderweb or
troll track across the path has you on edge. Though you see no signs
of orcs, their refuse is everywhere. Everything from grotesque stone
carvings, to vast burnings and garbage piles, to the skeletons that
betray their propensity for conflict. From the rare trickle of a
stream you detect a faint tang of oil in the air. If the Forest Road
is ever to be re-claimed, it will take a great cleansing to restore
this section.
Nobody triggered any hazards so I simply left it at that, except for the 2 Fatigue tests at TN 20 and the 6 Corruption tests (only Ranulf passed some of these, and only 2). So now everyone is good and miserable (as they should be after trekking across the Mountains of Mirkwood). The players objected strongly to this many corruption tests, so I revealed that I was going easy on them, and that by the original (un-clarified) version of RAW (rules as written), a journey across Mirkwood would take 40 or 50 something corruption tests. The Shadow's been banished (for now), so while there are still some strongly blighted places in the forest I figured the Road is as safe as it'll ever be until after the end of the War of the Ring.
And this is where we left off for now. The company has made it through the worst of what Mirkwood has to offer, but the northeastern edge of the Heart of Mirkwood still remains, as well as the Long Marshes (where they're scheduled to meet Oin's nephew, Gimli).
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Session Summary: Nazgul!!!
Well, I guess the title spoils what happened during this session. This was once again my second TOR campaign (the one that's actually active), so it follows the adventures of Grimwine the Beorning, Ranulf the Barding, and Lowthesis the Dwarf of Erebor.
In Pursuit of Orcs
Just to re-cap, at the end of the previous session the company was ambushed by orcs and wargs, with the surviving orcs fleeing north. Attempts to catch/track these guys failed, and so the heroes were forced to simply head in that general direction. They eventually reach the ridge-top that Ranulf saw when he climbed a tree to get a better view of the land, and Grimwine noticed an area near a cliff with some charred trees. Heading that way, they reached what looked like the main orc encampment. A "lawn" of burnt and trampled vegetation strewn with junk lay about the bottom of the cliff, with the tall surrounding trees left intact (to provide a canopy that the orcs could use to move about during the day). Grimwine approached the wide cave opening leading to a single large chamber while Lowthesis rifled through the junk looking for anything of interest (or value). Finding nothing, he and Ranulf joined Grimwine as he entered the cave. It was empty, and also strewn with more orc-trash. Grimwine surmised by examining fresh droppings that the orcs were here within the last day or two, while Lowthesis searched the cavern. He found a small stash of loot (1 treasure point), which he kept. Since he'd already loaded up to full carrying capacity on treasure in the cave, Grimwine had to carry it for him. Finding nothing else, they left the cave and Grimwine searched the area for tracks. It looked like the group had scattered, singly or in twos and threes taking separate paths generally north through the forest. As Grimwine examined the tracks, the group heard a Woodmen horn blowing a distress signal in the distance.
The company rushed toward the source of the sound, finding Grimwine's hunting companion Hathus taking down an orc, with two orc bodies and 1 Woodmen lying dead on the ground. Hathus bound this orc, intent on interrogating him. Grimwine rushed up to aid him, and rolled an extraordinary success (with a Gandalf too, I think) on his Awe roll to intimidate the goblin. With one hand he held up his greataxe menacingly, and with the other snatched up the goblin and threw him to the ground. Moisture appeared from the crotch of the goblin's pants. The company learned that the orc chieftain, Gazmog, had ordered the group to disperse and head north. When questioned about the artifact stolen from the cave, they learned that "The Mistress" had bade Gazmog to hide "the Egg," and Gazmog took it himself. The egg was described to be large, heavy, and shiny like mithril. Being of no further use, Grimwine slayed the captive (in hindsight I probably should have given him a shadow point for this).
Sending Hathus back to Woodland Hall with this new information, the company headed back to the orc encampment to pick up one of the trails. Grimwine searched for larger tracks, and finding a set he followed them. What followed was a pursuit that was never meant to be successful given the full day's head start that the orcs had. Grimwine pushed full steam ahead, however, leaving Lowthesis and eventually Ranulf behind. A hazard was rolled, in which I invoked Lowthesis' "Grasping" flaw. Basically, they heroes had to climb a waterfall out of a shallow gorge, and while climbing a piece of treasure slipped out of Lowthesis' pack. He tried to catch it, throwing himself off balance and falling onto the slippery rocks below. He was wounded with a sprained wrist (luckily his full endurance allowed him to recover with one night's rest, but it did prevent Grimwine from regaining a point of Hope at the end of the session). The orcs were tracked for a full 7 days with Grimwine getting the bare minimum amount of sleep and leaving Ranulf trailing a full day behind, and Lowthesis, who eventually gave up and built himself a bed, even further. Finding signs that he was gaining on his quarry, Grimwine was relentless in his pursuit, which eventually led him to a pair of orcs. He slayed them, but after searching the bodies didn't find an egg. He collapsed from exhaustion, was joined shortly by Ranulf who eventually caught up, and then the two eventually met up with Lowthesis on the journey back to Woodland Hall (which took 10 days).
The Folk-Moot
The heroes reached Woodland Hall to learn that the elders were all away at Woodmen Town for the Folk-Moot that would decide who was to represent their people at the Council of the North. The journey south was relatively uneventful, though they did meet a pair of hunters, one of whom gave Grimwine a hunting knife in appreciation for tales of his valorous deeds. When they reached town, the guards in front of the Hall of Balthi would not admit them since the Moot was currently in progress. Impressed by Grimwine's awesome bearing (literally, resulting from his high Awe roll), he offered the company refreshments in the guard house and sent a messenger to them as soon as the meeting was adjourned. They met with Beranhild (The Sage), who didn't recognize the orc's description of the Egg. When shown Ranulf's rubbings of the names from the cave, she visibly blanched at the sight of the circled name, from the fake sarcophagus that the egg was mounted on: Akhorahil. She simply said that he was an ancient terror from deep in the forest beyond the ruins that Grimwine stumbled upon. She could not aid them further, and bid them to seek Radagast for advice. Despite being quiet in the background, Lowthesis surmised from a good Riddle roll that she was truly terrified, and probably knew more than she was letting on but didn't trust herself to give counsel on what was clearly a very important matter.
The company rested for a day in Woodmen Town, with Ranulf traveling to the Dusky River to nap in a boat (fishing without bait), Grimwine working on a leather sheath for his new hunting knife, and Lowthesis moping over the general lack of forges in these lands. During their evening meal they were joined by Walcaud (The Shepherd), the elder from Woodland Hall, and learned that he would be traveling to Dale with Amand (The Tall), an elder from Woodmen Town who was chosen to be the representative at the Council of the North.
Back to Rhosgobel
The journey to Rhosgobel was punctuated only by an encounter with a merchant from Mountain Hall, Amalina. She had just dropped off a shipment of weapons and armor in Rhosgobel and was traveling back home to do some smith-work. Lowthesis noted this, offering to teach her some Dwarven techniques if he ever made it her way. After finally reaching Rhosgobel and heading straight for Radagast's hut near the hedge, the company sees an old man cloaked in grey sitting around and smoking with 4 Dwarves. As they approach he introduces himself as Gandalf the Grey, and chuckling in amusement at Grimwine's attempt to Awe him. The Dwarves introduce themselves as Dwalin, Balin, Ori, and Oin, all bowing low. They exchange pleasantries and brief tales while waiting for Radagast to return (Lowthesis in a visibly better mood resulting from the companionship of some of his kinsmen). At one point Gandalf blows smoke rings that take the form of an orc, and then followed by an axe that "decapitates" the orc-shape. Laughing, he tells Grimwine "I got one, too!" Grimwine replied with "mine had more blood," to which Gandalf responded with a sparkling display of red flashes that emanated from the smoke-shape of the orc.
Once Radagast returned the company began to discuss their recent adventures, asking specifically about The Mistress (which Radagast had not heard of, but noted that Mirkwood is filled with many dark creatures that could potentially organize orcs) and Akhorahil. Gandalf blanched at that name, explaining that he was a deadly servant of Gorthu (Sauron) - a Black Numenorean given one of the Nine Rings. He explained that Akhorahil still walks the earth in wraith-form, and is rumored to be in Mordor with the other Nazgul. He was deeply concerned that the orcs were seeking an artifact of his house on the orders of this Mistress.
Gandalf insisted that the heroes accompany him to Dale to report their tale during the Council of the North. This was clearly a major development, and input from the leaders of all the northern peoples was critical. He told them that Radagast would be leaving for the northern route around Mirkwood in about a week with Amand The Tall, Walcaud The Shepherd, and a retinue of Woodmen guards (Grimwine told Radagast that his friend Hathus should be considered for membership in this elite guard). Meanwhile, he had planned on assisting the Dwarves with their mission to scout out the viability of the Old Forest Road. They had planned on meeting up with Oin's nephew, Gimli, who would be waiting for them with boats in the Long Marshes.
Nazgul!!!
After making preparations for 3 days, Gandalf and the Dwarves departed with the company of heroes, along with a pack pony (FolÃ) and Gandalf's horse, Bregolad. The week-long journey from Rhosgobel to the road as it emerged from western Mirkwood was relatively uneventful, but the heavy rains did fatigue Grimwine and Ranulf. When they reached the road they saw a stark contrast with the relatively well-maintained road to their left (leading to major paths north, to the land of the Beornings, and south, to the realm of the Woodmen) and the overgrown mess (leading into Mirkwood) to their right.
During their first few days they encountered a few old ruins (of Dwarven make) along the road, which broke up the monotony of clearing a path through the overgrown vegetation and logs (for the horse and pony) and dealing with the dark, stifling air of Mirkwood. At one point they encountered spiderwebs, including a large one across the road. Though its sticky strands proved difficult to burn with torches or hack with axes, Gandalf casually tossed a flaming pine cone at it to clear the way. He advised them "don't look left, it'll only worry you," at which point Ranulf looked left and saw several sets of large spider-eyes retreating into the shadows. Shortly afterwards the air got even darker and stuffier, and they passed ruins of jet-black rock which Gandalf urged them past quickly, though they hardly needed his help after sensing the malice of that area for themselves (corruption test). Gandalf marched them until almost midnight before they made camp (not that they could see the sky to be sure, in this gloom). The next day (well into their fourth day in Mirkwood they heard a loud, piercing wail too close for comfort. Gandalf stood stock-still, the heroes made Fear tests, and all the Dwarves but Balin were paralyzed with fright (Balin ran up to Folà to restrain him, as he was struggling to run ahead). Lowthesis ran to Balin's aid, while Ranulf nocked an arrow and Grimwine drew his axe. Gandalf looked at them briefly and yelled "what are you doing? Fly you fools!" As they turned to run Gandalf added "and take those Dwarves!" At this point Grimwine tried to inspire them to make a stand against this foe, and a ridiculous extraordinary success combined with a Gandalf inspired me to cause Dwalin to temporarily reach for his Mattock, but then regain his senses and, recovered from his swoon, aid the heroes in getting Ori and Oin moving.
As soon as they were just about ready to flee they all heard another wail, this time much closer and accompanied by a strange clicking noise. Gandalf mounted Bregolad. A Nazgul burst through the trees onto the road riding a giant spider (whose chitonous joints were making the clicking noise)!!! A quick exhale pointed in the direction of the travelers called for corruption checks. All but Lowthesis fell into a swoon from the Black Breath (and gained 2 Shadow points), but even the stout Dwarf was partially frozen and still gained 1 Shadow despite his strong will in the face of this servant of Sauron. Ranulf and Grimwine both drained a point from the Fellowship pool to avoid becoming Miserable. The pony bolted. With a bright shaft of light from his staff and a quick slash at the spider's leg from Glamdring, Gandalf drove the Nazgul off. He quickly turned to Lowthesis and commanded him to guard his companions and make sure that the mission got completed. He then sped off after the Nazgul, leaving a very frightened Lowthesis guarding his unconscious friends and kinsmen. They finally came to after nearly 5 hours, during which Lowthesis build a fire. The "camp" was soon surrounded by spiders, but being a smaller variety (by Mirkwood standards) they refrained from attacking.
And that's where we ended. Exciting stuff!
In Pursuit of Orcs
Just to re-cap, at the end of the previous session the company was ambushed by orcs and wargs, with the surviving orcs fleeing north. Attempts to catch/track these guys failed, and so the heroes were forced to simply head in that general direction. They eventually reach the ridge-top that Ranulf saw when he climbed a tree to get a better view of the land, and Grimwine noticed an area near a cliff with some charred trees. Heading that way, they reached what looked like the main orc encampment. A "lawn" of burnt and trampled vegetation strewn with junk lay about the bottom of the cliff, with the tall surrounding trees left intact (to provide a canopy that the orcs could use to move about during the day). Grimwine approached the wide cave opening leading to a single large chamber while Lowthesis rifled through the junk looking for anything of interest (or value). Finding nothing, he and Ranulf joined Grimwine as he entered the cave. It was empty, and also strewn with more orc-trash. Grimwine surmised by examining fresh droppings that the orcs were here within the last day or two, while Lowthesis searched the cavern. He found a small stash of loot (1 treasure point), which he kept. Since he'd already loaded up to full carrying capacity on treasure in the cave, Grimwine had to carry it for him. Finding nothing else, they left the cave and Grimwine searched the area for tracks. It looked like the group had scattered, singly or in twos and threes taking separate paths generally north through the forest. As Grimwine examined the tracks, the group heard a Woodmen horn blowing a distress signal in the distance.
The company rushed toward the source of the sound, finding Grimwine's hunting companion Hathus taking down an orc, with two orc bodies and 1 Woodmen lying dead on the ground. Hathus bound this orc, intent on interrogating him. Grimwine rushed up to aid him, and rolled an extraordinary success (with a Gandalf too, I think) on his Awe roll to intimidate the goblin. With one hand he held up his greataxe menacingly, and with the other snatched up the goblin and threw him to the ground. Moisture appeared from the crotch of the goblin's pants. The company learned that the orc chieftain, Gazmog, had ordered the group to disperse and head north. When questioned about the artifact stolen from the cave, they learned that "The Mistress" had bade Gazmog to hide "the Egg," and Gazmog took it himself. The egg was described to be large, heavy, and shiny like mithril. Being of no further use, Grimwine slayed the captive (in hindsight I probably should have given him a shadow point for this).
Sending Hathus back to Woodland Hall with this new information, the company headed back to the orc encampment to pick up one of the trails. Grimwine searched for larger tracks, and finding a set he followed them. What followed was a pursuit that was never meant to be successful given the full day's head start that the orcs had. Grimwine pushed full steam ahead, however, leaving Lowthesis and eventually Ranulf behind. A hazard was rolled, in which I invoked Lowthesis' "Grasping" flaw. Basically, they heroes had to climb a waterfall out of a shallow gorge, and while climbing a piece of treasure slipped out of Lowthesis' pack. He tried to catch it, throwing himself off balance and falling onto the slippery rocks below. He was wounded with a sprained wrist (luckily his full endurance allowed him to recover with one night's rest, but it did prevent Grimwine from regaining a point of Hope at the end of the session). The orcs were tracked for a full 7 days with Grimwine getting the bare minimum amount of sleep and leaving Ranulf trailing a full day behind, and Lowthesis, who eventually gave up and built himself a bed, even further. Finding signs that he was gaining on his quarry, Grimwine was relentless in his pursuit, which eventually led him to a pair of orcs. He slayed them, but after searching the bodies didn't find an egg. He collapsed from exhaustion, was joined shortly by Ranulf who eventually caught up, and then the two eventually met up with Lowthesis on the journey back to Woodland Hall (which took 10 days).
The Folk-Moot
The heroes reached Woodland Hall to learn that the elders were all away at Woodmen Town for the Folk-Moot that would decide who was to represent their people at the Council of the North. The journey south was relatively uneventful, though they did meet a pair of hunters, one of whom gave Grimwine a hunting knife in appreciation for tales of his valorous deeds. When they reached town, the guards in front of the Hall of Balthi would not admit them since the Moot was currently in progress. Impressed by Grimwine's awesome bearing (literally, resulting from his high Awe roll), he offered the company refreshments in the guard house and sent a messenger to them as soon as the meeting was adjourned. They met with Beranhild (The Sage), who didn't recognize the orc's description of the Egg. When shown Ranulf's rubbings of the names from the cave, she visibly blanched at the sight of the circled name, from the fake sarcophagus that the egg was mounted on: Akhorahil. She simply said that he was an ancient terror from deep in the forest beyond the ruins that Grimwine stumbled upon. She could not aid them further, and bid them to seek Radagast for advice. Despite being quiet in the background, Lowthesis surmised from a good Riddle roll that she was truly terrified, and probably knew more than she was letting on but didn't trust herself to give counsel on what was clearly a very important matter.
The company rested for a day in Woodmen Town, with Ranulf traveling to the Dusky River to nap in a boat (fishing without bait), Grimwine working on a leather sheath for his new hunting knife, and Lowthesis moping over the general lack of forges in these lands. During their evening meal they were joined by Walcaud (The Shepherd), the elder from Woodland Hall, and learned that he would be traveling to Dale with Amand (The Tall), an elder from Woodmen Town who was chosen to be the representative at the Council of the North.
Back to Rhosgobel
The journey to Rhosgobel was punctuated only by an encounter with a merchant from Mountain Hall, Amalina. She had just dropped off a shipment of weapons and armor in Rhosgobel and was traveling back home to do some smith-work. Lowthesis noted this, offering to teach her some Dwarven techniques if he ever made it her way. After finally reaching Rhosgobel and heading straight for Radagast's hut near the hedge, the company sees an old man cloaked in grey sitting around and smoking with 4 Dwarves. As they approach he introduces himself as Gandalf the Grey, and chuckling in amusement at Grimwine's attempt to Awe him. The Dwarves introduce themselves as Dwalin, Balin, Ori, and Oin, all bowing low. They exchange pleasantries and brief tales while waiting for Radagast to return (Lowthesis in a visibly better mood resulting from the companionship of some of his kinsmen). At one point Gandalf blows smoke rings that take the form of an orc, and then followed by an axe that "decapitates" the orc-shape. Laughing, he tells Grimwine "I got one, too!" Grimwine replied with "mine had more blood," to which Gandalf responded with a sparkling display of red flashes that emanated from the smoke-shape of the orc.
Once Radagast returned the company began to discuss their recent adventures, asking specifically about The Mistress (which Radagast had not heard of, but noted that Mirkwood is filled with many dark creatures that could potentially organize orcs) and Akhorahil. Gandalf blanched at that name, explaining that he was a deadly servant of Gorthu (Sauron) - a Black Numenorean given one of the Nine Rings. He explained that Akhorahil still walks the earth in wraith-form, and is rumored to be in Mordor with the other Nazgul. He was deeply concerned that the orcs were seeking an artifact of his house on the orders of this Mistress.
Gandalf insisted that the heroes accompany him to Dale to report their tale during the Council of the North. This was clearly a major development, and input from the leaders of all the northern peoples was critical. He told them that Radagast would be leaving for the northern route around Mirkwood in about a week with Amand The Tall, Walcaud The Shepherd, and a retinue of Woodmen guards (Grimwine told Radagast that his friend Hathus should be considered for membership in this elite guard). Meanwhile, he had planned on assisting the Dwarves with their mission to scout out the viability of the Old Forest Road. They had planned on meeting up with Oin's nephew, Gimli, who would be waiting for them with boats in the Long Marshes.
Nazgul!!!
After making preparations for 3 days, Gandalf and the Dwarves departed with the company of heroes, along with a pack pony (FolÃ) and Gandalf's horse, Bregolad. The week-long journey from Rhosgobel to the road as it emerged from western Mirkwood was relatively uneventful, but the heavy rains did fatigue Grimwine and Ranulf. When they reached the road they saw a stark contrast with the relatively well-maintained road to their left (leading to major paths north, to the land of the Beornings, and south, to the realm of the Woodmen) and the overgrown mess (leading into Mirkwood) to their right.
During their first few days they encountered a few old ruins (of Dwarven make) along the road, which broke up the monotony of clearing a path through the overgrown vegetation and logs (for the horse and pony) and dealing with the dark, stifling air of Mirkwood. At one point they encountered spiderwebs, including a large one across the road. Though its sticky strands proved difficult to burn with torches or hack with axes, Gandalf casually tossed a flaming pine cone at it to clear the way. He advised them "don't look left, it'll only worry you," at which point Ranulf looked left and saw several sets of large spider-eyes retreating into the shadows. Shortly afterwards the air got even darker and stuffier, and they passed ruins of jet-black rock which Gandalf urged them past quickly, though they hardly needed his help after sensing the malice of that area for themselves (corruption test). Gandalf marched them until almost midnight before they made camp (not that they could see the sky to be sure, in this gloom). The next day (well into their fourth day in Mirkwood they heard a loud, piercing wail too close for comfort. Gandalf stood stock-still, the heroes made Fear tests, and all the Dwarves but Balin were paralyzed with fright (Balin ran up to Folà to restrain him, as he was struggling to run ahead). Lowthesis ran to Balin's aid, while Ranulf nocked an arrow and Grimwine drew his axe. Gandalf looked at them briefly and yelled "what are you doing? Fly you fools!" As they turned to run Gandalf added "and take those Dwarves!" At this point Grimwine tried to inspire them to make a stand against this foe, and a ridiculous extraordinary success combined with a Gandalf inspired me to cause Dwalin to temporarily reach for his Mattock, but then regain his senses and, recovered from his swoon, aid the heroes in getting Ori and Oin moving.
As soon as they were just about ready to flee they all heard another wail, this time much closer and accompanied by a strange clicking noise. Gandalf mounted Bregolad. A Nazgul burst through the trees onto the road riding a giant spider (whose chitonous joints were making the clicking noise)!!! A quick exhale pointed in the direction of the travelers called for corruption checks. All but Lowthesis fell into a swoon from the Black Breath (and gained 2 Shadow points), but even the stout Dwarf was partially frozen and still gained 1 Shadow despite his strong will in the face of this servant of Sauron. Ranulf and Grimwine both drained a point from the Fellowship pool to avoid becoming Miserable. The pony bolted. With a bright shaft of light from his staff and a quick slash at the spider's leg from Glamdring, Gandalf drove the Nazgul off. He quickly turned to Lowthesis and commanded him to guard his companions and make sure that the mission got completed. He then sped off after the Nazgul, leaving a very frightened Lowthesis guarding his unconscious friends and kinsmen. They finally came to after nearly 5 hours, during which Lowthesis build a fire. The "camp" was soon surrounded by spiders, but being a smaller variety (by Mirkwood standards) they refrained from attacking.
And that's where we ended. Exciting stuff!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Session Summary: The Cold Cave
Introduction
I'm going to preface this by saying that barely any of this adventure was actually "planned." I'd thought of a few quick hooks to follow Words of the Wise, and while the players sort of half bit into one, it went into a really unexpected direction. So here's what happened during my first "non-scripted" TOR game.
To re-cap, this was with my second group so the players are Grimwine (Beorning), Lowthesis (Dwarf), and Ranulf (Barding). The Fellowship Phase following Words of the Wise was spent opening up Woodland Hall as a Sanctuary. The company became familiar with the 3 most powerful Elders of this settlement, Beranhild (The Sage), Rathar (The Silent), and Walcaud (The Shepherd), as well as getting to know some of the warriors, hunters, and guards. Grimwine spent some time attempting to mentor Hathus, a young up-and-comer who was orphaned at a young age, but he was unwilling to leave the life he'd finally established for himself to start adventuring. Ranulf mostly hung around with the fishermen at the Dusky River, and Lowthesis basically just talked with as many people as possible. Other notable events around town were the upcoming Folk-Moot to determine which Woodmen elder would be accompanying Radagast to the Council of the North, and the hunting of the remnants from the orc assault on the village. After a little over 2 weeks (April 26 2946 of the Westron calendar) our company's next adventure begins.
Finding the Cold Cave
A young messenger returned from the forest reporting a sizeable orc band, and Heva (with her captain Ingelram) invited the PCs to accompany her on a reconnaissance mission. The elders wanted to know where these orcs were camped, and what their numbers were. After crossing the Dusky River into the dark depths of Mirkwood (Corruption test) Ranulf scouted out ahead and reported a major game trail that would speed their travel. Just a few hours travel on the path led them to an area where the main trail diverged into many smaller (fainter) trails, but ahead along the path a fresh gut pile was spotted. After cautiously investigating the area, Grimwine crept forward following a track where the deer's body had obviously been dragged through the forest. After about 100 yards he encountered a small clearing of trampled vegetation and various bones before a rocky cliff face (~50 feet high) with a narrow cave opening. No signs of fire were present, which Grimwine found odd (being very learned in Orc-lore). Lowthesis investigated the opening, finding some rough runes scrawled into the rock near the cave. Grimwine recognized the letter "c" in an orc-tongue. Also notable was the fact that a noticeable breeze emanated from the cavern, and it was colder than would be expected. With Ranulf, Heva, and Ingelram waiting in the bushes with bows drawn, and Lowthesis in front of the entrance, Grimwine banged his axe loudly against the rock so that it echoed within the cave. Ranulf was able to persuade the two Woodmen that Grimwine must have had a plan, as Ingelram was livid and ready to leave the company and head back to Woodland Hall with Heva.
No answer came from the cave, and so the heroes crept in. Lowthesis crafted some torches (very well, at that) and they headed down a narrow, twisting passage before emerging into a wider chamber. This "room" had a fissure at its far side from which the unusually cold air was coming, and nearby several deer carcasses hung from pitons installed in the cave wall. One was a white stag, to everyone's horror (the Woodmen consider it taboo to hunt the white stags of Mirkwood). Ranulf removed the pitons and attempted to climb down the fissure, but was unable to reach the bottom (though he came close). A feeling of being watched prompted a hasty retreat back up the ropes. Lowthesis searched the room, finding (in addition to the expected orc trash) a small bundle of survival tools that also contained a parchment with strange runes that nobody recognized (I hadn't planned on this, but he got an extraordinary success. This happened quite a bit tonight). After find nothing else of interest in the orc's "meat freezer," Grimwine proposed that the company camp outside of the cave so that they could ambush any orcs that stopped by to retrieve any food. Ranulf found an excellent campsite with plenty of cover nearby, and Grimwine volunteered to take 2 shifts at watch. On his second shift (the third of the night) he heard footsteps approaching the cave, and saw 4 torches. Two entered the cave, and 2 stayed outside. Ranulf attempted to ambush the orcs with a distraction (shooting an arrow at the cliffside to make a noise), though 2 of the 3 failed their rolls and so the orcs were aware of them. There ended up being 3 orcs outside (an archer wasn't carrying a torch), and 4 inside. Ingelram sustained a wound the first time he was attacked, and Heva ended up unconscious after being hit with several attacks in a row. The heroes were on fire, until orcs starting to flee. They yelled at each other (in common, suggesting that these were orcs from different regions) to get back to camp to warn Gazmog. Grimwine was proud that he'd killed 4 orcs, though everyone else was PO'd that this plan of his ended up giving the main camp warning of their presence. Ranulf attempted to heal Ingelram, but an Eye meant that his "treatment" actually hurt Ingelram more, and he fell unconscious. The part passed the rest of the night at their camp allowing Ingelram and Heva to recover, and then set off in the morning (which brought drizzle and overcast skies). The group heard wolf howls in the distance at dawn.
Pack Pursuit
Knowing that wargs and orcs often work together, the heroes pressed on as fast as they could but the howling kept growing closer. Ranulf scouted for a defensible location, and found a small rocky hill that was encircled by thorny brush on nearly all sides. They decided to make their stand here. Lowthesis crafted a rudimentary boulder trap (that he ended up never using, though he got an AP for the excellent roll to construct it). The wolves eventually caught up, but only slunk around the perimeter. The first one sighted had its throat pierced by a single shot from Ranulf, though they grew more wary after that sticking to better cover. A small group of 5 dashed up the hill to test the party, but after 2 were killed they fled back down. Lowthesis eventually decided that he'd had enough of this and went down the hill to scout out the warg's perimeter. Immediately after passing the line of brush he was flanked by 2 wargs who were joined immediately by a wolf leader. I can't remember whether Lowthesis scored a piercing blow or if he got an extraordinary success to deal massive endurance damage, but either way he killed the wolf leader with one lucky blow. Cover fire from Heva, Ingelram, and Ranulf drove the 2 wargs off, and the heroes took this opportunity to flee straight out of the line after several hours of being under siege on the hill. Lowthesis kept everyone going at a good, steady pace (Travel roll), getting them to the Dusky River just before sunset.
Brief Respite
The company returned to Woodland Hall in the middle of the night, and Ranulf escorted Ingelram and Heva immediately to the healers. Grimwine and Lowthesis went to sleep, then in the morning sought out the elders. They found Walcaud (The Shepherd) and reported what happened. He was not surprisingly a bit disappointed. Grimwine spent the next day hunting, and as luck would have it he encountered a white stag that was standing on the east side of the Dusky River. He followed the stag over a tall, rocky ridge that commanded a good view of a nearby hollow, at the head of which was a conspicuous stand of dead trees. He made his way in that direction, eventually encountering the foundations of an old bridge on the other side of a stream. After crossing the bridge he felt a dark presence, and noticed a broken statue on the pillar of the ruined bridge. An extremely lucky Lore roll (no ranks, but a Gandalf was rolled) prompted him to recall childhood tales of the Black Numenoreans who worshiped Sauron back in the Second Age. He made his way back to town, arriving well after dark to find a young man slinking around. After catching up with him, Grimwine asked the nervous fellow what he as up to and he reluctantly admitted that his uncle Arnulf had paid him to let the hogs out. Grimwine released the lad into the custody of the guards before finally getting to sleep.
Meanwhile, Lowthesis and Ranulf sought out the elders, and found Walcaud (The Shepherd) in a rather one-sided conversation with Rathar (The Silent). Lowthesis showed them the parchment he found in the orc bundle, and Walcaud offered to give it to Beranhild (The Sage), who was more learned in ancient lore than he. I honestly can't remember specifically what Ranulf asked them, but their failed mission was brought up. Ranulf spent the rest of the day fishing at the river.
The next morning everyone woke up and the party was finally reunited (quite a bit of real time had passed with everyone split up). They sought out the elders again, and found only Beranhild (The Sage). Grimwine reported to her about the stand of dead trees, and she warned him that the Woodmen do not go that way, and that there was rumored to be old ruins there that still housed great evil. Lowthesis asked about his parchment, and what little she was able to translate described an ancient artifact of some kind that the orcs seemed to be after. She was also asked about the white stags, and noted that sightings were rare, but that these 3 newcomers has already encountered 3 of them (one during the battle at Woodland Hall just before the temporal anomaly, one dead in the ice cave, and one that led Grimwine to the Black Numenorean ruins). It was then decided that the company would attempt their mission again, and investigate the artifact.
Return to the Cold Cave
The party reached the cave with no incidents (and more rope). They noticed a new rune carved into the rock, an orcish "B." Lowthesis guessed that "B" meant "bad," just as they'd assumed "C" meant "cold." I informed them (OoC) that they'd guessed correctly; orcs are fairly simple-minded). Lowthesis once again crafted some torches, and they entered the cave. They first noticed that the deer meat had all been removed. With their extra length of rope (and the pitons spaced a little less safely) they descended into the fissure. After continuing on a short way they were forced to cross a large mound of guano, and looking up saw many bats. Grimwine noticed orc tracks between one and two weeks old based on the accumulation of guano over them (my players got a kick out of that), and they pressed on. The floor became smoother, and they soon reached an archway. Lowthesis appraised the stonework as being very fine, but not Dwarven. As far as he knew, only the Noldor or Numenoreans could achieve this level of craftsmanship. Runes on the flagstone were of the same type as those on his parchment. As they crossed the threshold, a ghostly figure appeared, rushed at them, yelled "pillagers!," passed through them, and disappeared. They entered into a large chamber with 2 doors on the left (both of which led to caved-in tunnels) and 2 doors on the right. The first on the right led to a tomb with sarcophagi lining each long wall and one large one in the middle. Upon the large one was perched an intricately-wrought mithril stand which looked like it might hold some vaguely round object. Ranulf copied down the names (written in those same strange runes) on the sarcophagi, while Lowthesis tried to open one. A ghostly swordsman emerged from the first and swung his sword to decapitate before disappearing. In the second one a robed ghost with red eyes exhaled an incantation before disappearing (though Lowthesis passed his Corruption test). No treasure was found. Then he tried to open the big one, but couldn't. Grimwine aided him, but it still wouldn't budge. Ranulf left the room. Lowthesis tried to search the tomb for any hidden buttons or latches, but to his surprise discovered instead that it was a fake! It was actually a block of solid stone cunningly worked to resemble a sarcophagus. Ranulf circled that name on his list.
Through the second door the company followed a long passage that led into a wide chamber. The chamber was brimming with treasure of all kind! Grimwine wanted nothing to do with any of it, but Lowthesis loaded up enough to max out his load (14 treasure points, I believe), whereas Ranulf took a comparatively paltry 3 points. As they were about to cross the threshold a ghost appeared, simply stating that any who carried treasure out of this room would be cursed. To Lowthesis he stated that gold would be his undoing, and to Ranulf he stated that all of his future songs would be flat until his very final note. Ranulf put the treasure back, but Lowthesis kept his. After passing out of the room I announced that any cursed characters would gain a number of Shadow points equal to the number of treasure points that they took. Bad news for Lowthesis! They made their way back to the fissure's opening and climbed back up.
After emerging from the cavern Lowthesis was shot at by 4 arrows. He advanced slowly into the clearing, shield up, when 4 wargs charged at the company. Grimwine scored an extraordinary success with his spear in the opening volley, killing a goblin archer outright, and then scored a piercing blow on one of the wargs during his first turn. Nice. The battle was short and relatively easy, though Lowthesis did manage to roll an Eye being well past Miserable, and so he gained his first permanent Shadow point and flaw. After reading the flaws his player was excited about the prospect of his character's Shadow-weakness, but we'll see how he feels when I start invoking that flaw. Once all of the Wargs were killed the remaining 3 goblins fled. It was at this point that we decided to end this session. Quite a bit happened, if I do say so myself!
I'm going to preface this by saying that barely any of this adventure was actually "planned." I'd thought of a few quick hooks to follow Words of the Wise, and while the players sort of half bit into one, it went into a really unexpected direction. So here's what happened during my first "non-scripted" TOR game.
To re-cap, this was with my second group so the players are Grimwine (Beorning), Lowthesis (Dwarf), and Ranulf (Barding). The Fellowship Phase following Words of the Wise was spent opening up Woodland Hall as a Sanctuary. The company became familiar with the 3 most powerful Elders of this settlement, Beranhild (The Sage), Rathar (The Silent), and Walcaud (The Shepherd), as well as getting to know some of the warriors, hunters, and guards. Grimwine spent some time attempting to mentor Hathus, a young up-and-comer who was orphaned at a young age, but he was unwilling to leave the life he'd finally established for himself to start adventuring. Ranulf mostly hung around with the fishermen at the Dusky River, and Lowthesis basically just talked with as many people as possible. Other notable events around town were the upcoming Folk-Moot to determine which Woodmen elder would be accompanying Radagast to the Council of the North, and the hunting of the remnants from the orc assault on the village. After a little over 2 weeks (April 26 2946 of the Westron calendar) our company's next adventure begins.
Finding the Cold Cave
A young messenger returned from the forest reporting a sizeable orc band, and Heva (with her captain Ingelram) invited the PCs to accompany her on a reconnaissance mission. The elders wanted to know where these orcs were camped, and what their numbers were. After crossing the Dusky River into the dark depths of Mirkwood (Corruption test) Ranulf scouted out ahead and reported a major game trail that would speed their travel. Just a few hours travel on the path led them to an area where the main trail diverged into many smaller (fainter) trails, but ahead along the path a fresh gut pile was spotted. After cautiously investigating the area, Grimwine crept forward following a track where the deer's body had obviously been dragged through the forest. After about 100 yards he encountered a small clearing of trampled vegetation and various bones before a rocky cliff face (~50 feet high) with a narrow cave opening. No signs of fire were present, which Grimwine found odd (being very learned in Orc-lore). Lowthesis investigated the opening, finding some rough runes scrawled into the rock near the cave. Grimwine recognized the letter "c" in an orc-tongue. Also notable was the fact that a noticeable breeze emanated from the cavern, and it was colder than would be expected. With Ranulf, Heva, and Ingelram waiting in the bushes with bows drawn, and Lowthesis in front of the entrance, Grimwine banged his axe loudly against the rock so that it echoed within the cave. Ranulf was able to persuade the two Woodmen that Grimwine must have had a plan, as Ingelram was livid and ready to leave the company and head back to Woodland Hall with Heva.
No answer came from the cave, and so the heroes crept in. Lowthesis crafted some torches (very well, at that) and they headed down a narrow, twisting passage before emerging into a wider chamber. This "room" had a fissure at its far side from which the unusually cold air was coming, and nearby several deer carcasses hung from pitons installed in the cave wall. One was a white stag, to everyone's horror (the Woodmen consider it taboo to hunt the white stags of Mirkwood). Ranulf removed the pitons and attempted to climb down the fissure, but was unable to reach the bottom (though he came close). A feeling of being watched prompted a hasty retreat back up the ropes. Lowthesis searched the room, finding (in addition to the expected orc trash) a small bundle of survival tools that also contained a parchment with strange runes that nobody recognized (I hadn't planned on this, but he got an extraordinary success. This happened quite a bit tonight). After find nothing else of interest in the orc's "meat freezer," Grimwine proposed that the company camp outside of the cave so that they could ambush any orcs that stopped by to retrieve any food. Ranulf found an excellent campsite with plenty of cover nearby, and Grimwine volunteered to take 2 shifts at watch. On his second shift (the third of the night) he heard footsteps approaching the cave, and saw 4 torches. Two entered the cave, and 2 stayed outside. Ranulf attempted to ambush the orcs with a distraction (shooting an arrow at the cliffside to make a noise), though 2 of the 3 failed their rolls and so the orcs were aware of them. There ended up being 3 orcs outside (an archer wasn't carrying a torch), and 4 inside. Ingelram sustained a wound the first time he was attacked, and Heva ended up unconscious after being hit with several attacks in a row. The heroes were on fire, until orcs starting to flee. They yelled at each other (in common, suggesting that these were orcs from different regions) to get back to camp to warn Gazmog. Grimwine was proud that he'd killed 4 orcs, though everyone else was PO'd that this plan of his ended up giving the main camp warning of their presence. Ranulf attempted to heal Ingelram, but an Eye meant that his "treatment" actually hurt Ingelram more, and he fell unconscious. The part passed the rest of the night at their camp allowing Ingelram and Heva to recover, and then set off in the morning (which brought drizzle and overcast skies). The group heard wolf howls in the distance at dawn.
Pack Pursuit
Knowing that wargs and orcs often work together, the heroes pressed on as fast as they could but the howling kept growing closer. Ranulf scouted for a defensible location, and found a small rocky hill that was encircled by thorny brush on nearly all sides. They decided to make their stand here. Lowthesis crafted a rudimentary boulder trap (that he ended up never using, though he got an AP for the excellent roll to construct it). The wolves eventually caught up, but only slunk around the perimeter. The first one sighted had its throat pierced by a single shot from Ranulf, though they grew more wary after that sticking to better cover. A small group of 5 dashed up the hill to test the party, but after 2 were killed they fled back down. Lowthesis eventually decided that he'd had enough of this and went down the hill to scout out the warg's perimeter. Immediately after passing the line of brush he was flanked by 2 wargs who were joined immediately by a wolf leader. I can't remember whether Lowthesis scored a piercing blow or if he got an extraordinary success to deal massive endurance damage, but either way he killed the wolf leader with one lucky blow. Cover fire from Heva, Ingelram, and Ranulf drove the 2 wargs off, and the heroes took this opportunity to flee straight out of the line after several hours of being under siege on the hill. Lowthesis kept everyone going at a good, steady pace (Travel roll), getting them to the Dusky River just before sunset.
Brief Respite
The company returned to Woodland Hall in the middle of the night, and Ranulf escorted Ingelram and Heva immediately to the healers. Grimwine and Lowthesis went to sleep, then in the morning sought out the elders. They found Walcaud (The Shepherd) and reported what happened. He was not surprisingly a bit disappointed. Grimwine spent the next day hunting, and as luck would have it he encountered a white stag that was standing on the east side of the Dusky River. He followed the stag over a tall, rocky ridge that commanded a good view of a nearby hollow, at the head of which was a conspicuous stand of dead trees. He made his way in that direction, eventually encountering the foundations of an old bridge on the other side of a stream. After crossing the bridge he felt a dark presence, and noticed a broken statue on the pillar of the ruined bridge. An extremely lucky Lore roll (no ranks, but a Gandalf was rolled) prompted him to recall childhood tales of the Black Numenoreans who worshiped Sauron back in the Second Age. He made his way back to town, arriving well after dark to find a young man slinking around. After catching up with him, Grimwine asked the nervous fellow what he as up to and he reluctantly admitted that his uncle Arnulf had paid him to let the hogs out. Grimwine released the lad into the custody of the guards before finally getting to sleep.
Meanwhile, Lowthesis and Ranulf sought out the elders, and found Walcaud (The Shepherd) in a rather one-sided conversation with Rathar (The Silent). Lowthesis showed them the parchment he found in the orc bundle, and Walcaud offered to give it to Beranhild (The Sage), who was more learned in ancient lore than he. I honestly can't remember specifically what Ranulf asked them, but their failed mission was brought up. Ranulf spent the rest of the day fishing at the river.
The next morning everyone woke up and the party was finally reunited (quite a bit of real time had passed with everyone split up). They sought out the elders again, and found only Beranhild (The Sage). Grimwine reported to her about the stand of dead trees, and she warned him that the Woodmen do not go that way, and that there was rumored to be old ruins there that still housed great evil. Lowthesis asked about his parchment, and what little she was able to translate described an ancient artifact of some kind that the orcs seemed to be after. She was also asked about the white stags, and noted that sightings were rare, but that these 3 newcomers has already encountered 3 of them (one during the battle at Woodland Hall just before the temporal anomaly, one dead in the ice cave, and one that led Grimwine to the Black Numenorean ruins). It was then decided that the company would attempt their mission again, and investigate the artifact.
Return to the Cold Cave
The party reached the cave with no incidents (and more rope). They noticed a new rune carved into the rock, an orcish "B." Lowthesis guessed that "B" meant "bad," just as they'd assumed "C" meant "cold." I informed them (OoC) that they'd guessed correctly; orcs are fairly simple-minded). Lowthesis once again crafted some torches, and they entered the cave. They first noticed that the deer meat had all been removed. With their extra length of rope (and the pitons spaced a little less safely) they descended into the fissure. After continuing on a short way they were forced to cross a large mound of guano, and looking up saw many bats. Grimwine noticed orc tracks between one and two weeks old based on the accumulation of guano over them (my players got a kick out of that), and they pressed on. The floor became smoother, and they soon reached an archway. Lowthesis appraised the stonework as being very fine, but not Dwarven. As far as he knew, only the Noldor or Numenoreans could achieve this level of craftsmanship. Runes on the flagstone were of the same type as those on his parchment. As they crossed the threshold, a ghostly figure appeared, rushed at them, yelled "pillagers!," passed through them, and disappeared. They entered into a large chamber with 2 doors on the left (both of which led to caved-in tunnels) and 2 doors on the right. The first on the right led to a tomb with sarcophagi lining each long wall and one large one in the middle. Upon the large one was perched an intricately-wrought mithril stand which looked like it might hold some vaguely round object. Ranulf copied down the names (written in those same strange runes) on the sarcophagi, while Lowthesis tried to open one. A ghostly swordsman emerged from the first and swung his sword to decapitate before disappearing. In the second one a robed ghost with red eyes exhaled an incantation before disappearing (though Lowthesis passed his Corruption test). No treasure was found. Then he tried to open the big one, but couldn't. Grimwine aided him, but it still wouldn't budge. Ranulf left the room. Lowthesis tried to search the tomb for any hidden buttons or latches, but to his surprise discovered instead that it was a fake! It was actually a block of solid stone cunningly worked to resemble a sarcophagus. Ranulf circled that name on his list.
Through the second door the company followed a long passage that led into a wide chamber. The chamber was brimming with treasure of all kind! Grimwine wanted nothing to do with any of it, but Lowthesis loaded up enough to max out his load (14 treasure points, I believe), whereas Ranulf took a comparatively paltry 3 points. As they were about to cross the threshold a ghost appeared, simply stating that any who carried treasure out of this room would be cursed. To Lowthesis he stated that gold would be his undoing, and to Ranulf he stated that all of his future songs would be flat until his very final note. Ranulf put the treasure back, but Lowthesis kept his. After passing out of the room I announced that any cursed characters would gain a number of Shadow points equal to the number of treasure points that they took. Bad news for Lowthesis! They made their way back to the fissure's opening and climbed back up.
After emerging from the cavern Lowthesis was shot at by 4 arrows. He advanced slowly into the clearing, shield up, when 4 wargs charged at the company. Grimwine scored an extraordinary success with his spear in the opening volley, killing a goblin archer outright, and then scored a piercing blow on one of the wargs during his first turn. Nice. The battle was short and relatively easy, though Lowthesis did manage to roll an Eye being well past Miserable, and so he gained his first permanent Shadow point and flaw. After reading the flaws his player was excited about the prospect of his character's Shadow-weakness, but we'll see how he feels when I start invoking that flaw. Once all of the Wargs were killed the remaining 3 goblins fled. It was at this point that we decided to end this session. Quite a bit happened, if I do say so myself!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Words of the Wise Session Summary
Last night I introduced The One Ring to a second group of players, but instead of running The Marsh Bell again I thought I'd take Words of the Wise for a spin. This was the short demo adventure from (I think) Gen-Con last year. The session was fairly long (7 hours), which allowed ample time for both character creation and the entire adventure. The members of the fellowship were as follows: Lowthesis, Son of Dundin, is a bold and wrathful Dwarven treasure hunter, skilled at the forge (smith-craft) and selling his wares (trading). He's decked out in a full coat of mail and helm, with a Reinforced Shield. Grimwine, Son of Grimhelm is a Beorning orc-slayer extraordinaire; both bold and swift. He's happily taken up the mantle of party Huntsman, and is already well-versed in beast-lore and cooking. His Keen Greataxe is a troll-bane. Finally there is the generous Ranulf, a Barding wanderer. A former boat-maker (boating and woodwright) and an expert marksman, his adventurous spirit and military training (King's Men) serve him well as he explores Wilderland.
I'll refrain from giving a traditional session summary because I have a lot of other things I'd like to discuss, and the lack of spoilers will be useful if I ever want to run this adventure with my other group. Because the adventure begins in Rhosgobel, this was the fellowship's starting Sanctuary. That's obviously a long way from home for 2 members of the company, but I'd prepared a mandatory "hook" for each of the cultures that explains what they're doing in Rhosgobel. Normally I'd probably announce ahead of time where the party is starting and have the players justify what they're doing there, but seeing as this was the first time the group was playing and their familiarity with the setting and cultures was either low or rusty, I figured this would get us all into the game the quickest. In any case, this predetermined business saw our company arriving in late fall, and at the request of the Woodmen everyone wintered there. Perfect set-up for the opening scene of the adventure.
Observations
I'll refrain from giving a traditional session summary because I have a lot of other things I'd like to discuss, and the lack of spoilers will be useful if I ever want to run this adventure with my other group. Because the adventure begins in Rhosgobel, this was the fellowship's starting Sanctuary. That's obviously a long way from home for 2 members of the company, but I'd prepared a mandatory "hook" for each of the cultures that explains what they're doing in Rhosgobel. Normally I'd probably announce ahead of time where the party is starting and have the players justify what they're doing there, but seeing as this was the first time the group was playing and their familiarity with the setting and cultures was either low or rusty, I figured this would get us all into the game the quickest. In any case, this predetermined business saw our company arriving in late fall, and at the request of the Woodmen everyone wintered there. Perfect set-up for the opening scene of the adventure.
Observations
- This fellowship was a well-oiled machine in combat. Whereas my last group of players tentatively experimented with stances based on their perceived level of danger, this group had a plan. Grimwine would stay in forward stance most of the time, with Lowthesis in defensive taking hits for him when necessary. Interestingly, Ranulf, not Grimwine, is Lowthesis' fellowship focus so he went through quite a bit of Hope this way. Ranulf would either stick to rearward and shoot with his Great Bow, or move up to open and use the Rally Comrades action to sing a battle chant and keep his allies focused. Though hope is lost on a failed song roll, because succeeding would directly benefit Grimwine (his fellowship focus) he was able to turn a lot of fails into successes by invoking his attribute, immediately regaining that lost Hope.
- This group burned through Hope a lot more than the other group. In the other group everyone made sure that they used Hope as sustainably as possible, ending at maximum and only invoking it in the direst of circumstances. Last night heroes were using Hope outside of combat quite regularly, including during the opening Hunt. Ranulf actually ended up spending Hope on 2 different rolls in a row in the encounter with the Elvenking (which Lowthesis soured early on), and though he didn't know it at the time it was the difference between bringing back a small Elven patrol and an entire war party.
- While the party was efficient in combat, that was mostly due to a fairly rough start. In the first battle Grimwine stay in forward stance and Lowthesis was reluctant to spend too much Hope too early. Grimwine managed to get himself wounded, but then proceeded to remain in forward stance until he dropped below 0 endurance. Ranulf failed his Healing roll, but I had Radagast give him a second look when they dragged the wounded back. I believe that by a strict reading of the rules, since another healing check couldn't be attempted until the next day and dying characters need to be successfully treated within 12 hours, Grimwine would have died if not for Radagast's intervention. Moral of the story - don't fight recklessly while wounded! The long journey afterwards ended up being pretty lucky for Grimwine, given the slow recovery time of a wounded character.
- First leg of the journey, and the fellowship already triggered a hazard. I rolled randomly to determine who it affected (Grimwine was Hunstman, Lowthesis Guide, and Ranulf Scout), and Grimwine "lucked out." He had stated previously that he was hunting every day to stretch the provisions out as long as possible, so a "hunter to prey" scenario seemed perfectly appropriate to me. Something found the gut pile from one of his recent kills, and followed the scent back to their camp. I rolled randomly for what that something was, and it ended up being a Hill Troll! Grimwine was still wounded (though well on the road to recovery) by this point. This was when Lowthesis really started to get generous with the Hope! I notified the (then cocky) party when the troll hit 0 Endurance, saying that "he was moving a little more slowly, but unless you can pierce that thick hide he would keep on fighting." Ranulf's great bow skill (2 ranks) wasn't reliable enough to get any piercing shots, and the party started looking really nervous. Then, as luck would have it, Grimwine rolled a Gandalf rune with his Greataxe and the troll was unable to overcome the weapon's injury rating. The axe sliced open the troll's midsection, spilling its stomach contents and revealing the rabbit guts.
- I'll still avoid spoilers, but the party's new efficiency was definitely apparent in the final battle scene. They rolled 2 Eyes in the first round (which triggered the arrival of more enemies), but they still handily dispatched their foes, and I ended up bringing in more (including a tougher one) later on just to preserve the sense that this was a big battle with foes flowing through the gates, since it was unlikely to overwhelm the party.
- After some heavy role-playing investment into increasing Grimwine's reputation, his player was disappointed that it had no mechanical effect on his Standing. While the rationale for standing as-is makes sense for most of the cultures, the Beornings are tougher to reconcile with the default, given that uniting to keep the lands safe is a large part of what defines the Beornings as a people. Aside from paying it off later on in the narrative I'm not sure how to handle that.
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