Solo, Pen, Paper and Dice

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  giorgis 8:20 pm on April 25, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: 5leagues ( 45 ), Solo ( 133 )   

  The Wardens of Gahyrst. Ep14. 

  On to attack the Bleak Keep as provided by the evidence found when I was fighting the Fanatics.

  Campaign Turn

  Village Events: Offerings of food and ale. No need to pay Upkeep this turn.
  Agents and Adventurers: Bruno – Away on Quest, Alida – Dead, Frans – Away on Quest.
  Pay Upkeep: Still away on Questing as Agents: Bruno, and Frans.
  Healing Up: Ardus, also chugs a Tonic. Roving Wanderer.
  Actions:
  Ardus (+Evie): Healer. Fully Healed.
  Rudiger, Gustav: Priest: Failure
  Roving Wanderer: Healer.
  Where are we going: Bleak Keep
  Sell Unwanted Gear: Nothing.
  Trade: Nothing

  Despite that the Roving Wanderer was at 0 Recovery Turns needed after healing Up at the start of the turn, I decided that in order to allow him to adventure he had to see the Healer, and thus spent a town action.
  Combat Encounter: Fanatics: Camp: 6 Fanatics (1 Archer), Captain: 13″ combat distance: Seize Initiative: Success.

  Theme: Edge of the woods
  Oddities: None

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  Aftermath

  Injuries:
  Ardus: KO
  Unusual Finds: Bounty on their heads: 5 GM
  Experience:
  Gustav: Pathfinding
  Rudiger: +1 Luck
  Ardus: +1 Toughness
  Loot: Enchanted item: Hate Strike, Fine Standard Weapon, 11 GM. Also 3 GM for completing the mission.

  Journal

  With dark heart I received the news that Alida had perished. No longer would his steady crossbow cover us while we advanced against the enemies. But we lost not only a soldier, also a friend. We drank to his memory.
  Bruno and Frans were still away.
  The villagers of Eerfeld were still so happy we freed the lands that they gave us food and ale, and the innkeep gifted us our stay.
  Ardus and the Roving Wanderer were already feeling better, but with a visit to the healer, they’re back on their feet.
  Gustav and Rudiger went to the temple, but the priests weren’t receiving, due to a holy ritual that lasted the entire week.
  No time to waste, we headed for the Bleak Keep. Once outside, I taunted Crerdieu, and enraged, he and 4 fanatical followers met us out of the gates, while an archer took pot shots from above.
  The fight didn’t last long. With ease, we dispatched most of the minions, and Gustav finished off Crerdieu in hand to hand combat. Apart from a few scratches and wounds, only Ardus was downed in the field. He climbed the gatehouse and was knocked out by the enemy archer. This gave me an opportunity to finish him off with an arrow.
  It seems Crerdieu had a bounty on his head which we claimed, and also we got extra gold for clearing up the fort. Speaking of which, we found a fine sword, as well as an enchanted blade which screams with hate as Wigmar wields it. A fine addition to the armory.

  Evie’s Journal, week 14

  Session Summary

  The first of my hero deaths happened while they were away, using the optional Agents and Adventurers ruleset.

  In this fight I also used an optional rule about increased harm. This means that wounding happens much more easily. I really liked this rule as it gave a much faster game flow. The only downside is that the AI isn’t currently set to deal with it, so the player has a slight advantage as they can focus attacks on wounded enemies.

  With this battle, I’m hitting pause on the story of the Wardens of Gahyrst. Not hitting pause on 5L of course. I have some plans that I want to follow on later, but I feel that this warband power level at this campaign difficulty makes it go too easy… and I like a challenge.
   

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  giorgis 8:20 am on April 22, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: fantasy ( 69 ), minis ( 102 ), painting ( 103 ), splinteredlight ( 6 )   

  Miniatures pt43 – Ratmen 

  Finding 15mm ratmen isn’t an easy task. Turning to across the Atlantic, gave me the solution with these Ratmen from Splintered Light miniatures. Now they have a UK vendor as well, so it might make things a bit easier in the future.

  These are the Ratmen Personalities and Ratmen Zealots packs. I chose the zealots because they had the most different poses in the pack. I haven’t painted the entire pack, just one figure of each pose.

  As I said yesterday, Splintered Light are true scale, which sits a little smaller than the rest of my collection. Nevertheless the ratmen fit perfectly. They’re about goblin and halfling sized, smaller than Skaven, but that is not an issue for me. The Rat Ogre is equivalent to my other large creatures.

  I went with gray fur, and a dirty yellow top cloth (mixed yellow ochre acrylic ink with lemon yellow acrylic paint) over leaf green undercloth.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
   
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  giorgis 2:19 pm on April 21, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: blighthaven ( 14 ), fantasy ( 69 ), minis ( 102 ), painting ( 103 ), ralpartha ( 39 ), splinteredlight ( 6 )   

  Miniatures pt42 – Sir Roderick and a halfling 

  Here’s my first cavalry model that I completed. Sir Roderick (you may remember I painted his retinue some time ago) from Blighthaven line of Ral Partha Europe. Also, to keep this post a bit more complete, I’ve added a Halfling from the Dungeon Delvers by Splintered Light. Unfortunately the Splintered Light miniatures are true 15mm, so their human sized miniatures are smaller than the rest of my collection. Excellent sculpts and poses though. I’ll present my ratmen from them soon.

  

  

   
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  giorgis 12:52 am on April 14, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: 5parsecs ( 7 ), Solo ( 133 )   

  Rogue Fists – Ep5 

  With Marie out on personal business, the rest of the crew runs various tasks.
  The new member, Aurquan, the engineer, proves his usefulness by repairing a damaged ripper sword. Atrin is very happy to equip himself with. His enemies, not so.
  He flashes it around, as he goes to find a good trade deal. No wonder, that some shady folks passed a kill warrant to him. The mark is some pirate from the Flamin Suns crew. Aren’t all suns flaming?
  Cyloo follows down his leads to find a job that pays well. The ship is still in debt.
  He got two offers. One from Officer Binson, another from Taka-Byrn Cybernetics corp. The latter seemed the better choice, so he went back to the Hard Bargain to brief the crew.
  The task seemed simple. Escort “Mr. Jones” to the Taka-Byrn’s safebox in Quain Sector. Someone wants him dead but Taka-Byrn wouldn’t say more. In any case it’s quite common for rival corps to hire criminal elements to do their bidding. This was a strict two-people only mission, as decoys would be sent and it’s best to lay low to avoid odds.
  As the Rogue Fists approached, they heard the sound of grav bikes. A handful of Flamin Suns pirates disembarked in the opposite side. Their leader pointed to the rogue fists. The four of them were armed with rifles, but one of them was sporting a heavy shell gun.
  Mr Jones dashed for the safebox, staying out of enemy LOS, while Cyloo and Atrin headed to the west wall for cover. The pirates moved forward, shooting and only hitting the wall. Cyloo kills the pirate with the shell gun while another one tries to circle around the safebox. Atrin takes whiff of him, and goes back and blasts a hole through hist chest with his hand cannon.
  Two pirates down, a third one flees, and the odds now are equal. Mr Jones reaches the safebox, but he punches in the wrong code and needs to wait for a reset.
  The pirates advance and shoot at Cyloo but once again, the wall proves to be a lifesaver for the Hakshan. Cyloo blasts down a pirate with his shotgun, while Atrin flanks them and finishes off the last of them. Mr Jones entered the safebox and the crew won the day.
  Some trinkets and shiny bits on the battlefield, along with the excellent danger pay by Taka-Byrn, provided an influx of cash. Cyloo was too early to celebrate. During routine maintenance by Aurquan, the gravitational adjuster got knocked out of alignment. The ship is damaged and they need to fix it before going off planet.

  

  

  

  

  

  Session Summary

  Another session where the underdog was the winner.
  These small-crew fights play really fast.
  I’m considering returning to detailed posts for these, writing it down step by step. I think due to the small number of combatants this is feasible.

   
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  giorgis 3:38 pm on April 2, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: 5parsecs ( 7 ), Solo ( 133 )   

  Rogue Fists – Ep4 

  Cyloo and Atrin spent a few days recovering from their injuries. Marie spent this time vetting possible crew hires. They reached an agreement with Aurquan, an Engineer.
  Once introductions were finished, they decided together in the mess hall, what to do next. The Rogue Fists decided that, in memory of Dany, they should at least try to follow up on the only lead they had. The journalist friend’s, Carly Marte’s last known location prior to disappearing. Zorga was a small, low-profile community on the frozen north pole of the planet. They took the Hard Bargain and landed nearby. Marie stayed behind to guard the ship while the rest of the crew disembarked to investigate.
  The community of Zorga was a mess. Blood trails leading everywhere, with no bodies to be found. The Rogue Fists unholstered their sidearms and held fast to their rifles. Movement was detected in the distance.
  As they walked around the small structures carefully, they saw two alien life forms rampaging towards them. Sharp teeth in strong jaws. Claws moving up and down as the beasts charged towards them. Atrin aimed his Blast Rifle carefully. The shot found the xeno dead in the head, and it jumped forward motionless, still moving by inertia.
  From the otherside the second monster headed towards Cyloo and Aurquan. Cyloo blasted it with his shotgun as it drew closer. It was ripped to pieces. Blood and gore everywhere. If he had paused for just one second, the beast would have torn him apart.
  They looked around, cautiously, but no more creatures where to be found.
  Searching through the buildings, they found a datapad that must have belonged to Carly. In between the notes, they found an excerpt stating that Maro had found the so-called hot information in Anith IV. Maybe they should head there to find what it was all about.
  Among the structures, they collected whatever could help them in their quest. Some trinkets, things worth a few credits and a damaged handgun and a damaged ripper sword.
  As they returned to the station, a message was waiting for them in the commpad. Wayne Nakada had introduced them to a new contact, Officer Rankenn Binson, working for the local government. Maybe it’s going to help having a few more friends, especially in the side of the law.
  Marie looked at her private commpad. She notified Cyloo that she needed some personal time, to handle some shit that came up. As was expected, Cyloo agreed, and gave permission. They did survive those vent crawlers on their own without Marie after all… what’s a few more jobs without her? Anith IV would have to wait until Marie’s return though.

  

  

  Session Summary

  The quick fight against the vent crawlers was fast and furious. I was lucky to have spawned on the longer side of my table, with some open distance between my crew and the vent crawlers, so I could make a couple shots count.
  I’m getting a better feel of Five Parsecs as time goes by. It gives this Sci-Fi TV show feeling, where the session is a standalone episode. There is reference to previous episodes, and sometimes it can work into the narrative, but not necessarily continuously. Imagine a rival appearing in episode 3, and then again in 5 and 10. Imagine a story spanning in a few episodes, but in each episode the setting and theme are unique.
  I think understanding this, will help me better visualize the narrative and the world that expands.

   
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  giorgis 7:33 pm on April 1, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: 5parsecs ( 7 ), Solo ( 133 )   

  Rogue Fists – Ep3 

  Still trying to find my way to journal these sessions. I may try a few different styles as I attempt to find what suits better.

  The Rogue Fists spent a hefty sum to reduce the debt on the ship. Money is running low.
  Cyloo hit the flea market. He found a worthless trinket that wasn’t what it seemed. It was a pocket knife with a story behind it. Only a handful of these were produced, by famed blacksmith Baen Cantos.
  Marie trained in the gym as always.
  Atrin hit the scrap yard. There he found the parts necessary for a stabilizer. But it needs some fixing.
  Dany hit up his contacts and managed to find the whereabouts of their rival, Clase Rigers, the leader of the cultists.
  The gang gathered around to check up on their last source. A famous journalist, Maro Bibblie, has gone missing. They were contacted by a friend of his, who wouldn’t say their name, and was afraid of their life. They wanted to get rid of Maro’s datapad, but also wanted to make right by Maro. They gave Dany the last coordinates before disappearing. It’s buried next to a tree in the middle of the Centrum Park. As they approached, corporate goons were detected.
  It was a handful of corporate security guys, 4 of them armed with infantry lasers, and one with a handheld flamer, accompanying them was a K’erin. Famous for their brawling skills, the K’erin are a foe to be feared.
  The fight in the park didn’t go as planned. The enemy was holed up well behind their cover. Dany was the first to fall to a searing laser beam. Cyloo blasted down a goon trying to flank them, and a fast footed goon, fled to safety. The K’erin brought Atrin down with a burst from his machine pistol. Something caught Marie’s attention, but the battle was heated and she sat tight, aimed at the enemies.
  The nanobots at work, quickly repaired any damage done. As the K’erin got out of the tree grove, Cyloo blasted him on the side with his shotgun, stunning him. Marie took two shots with her assault rifle, finishing him.
  The flamer approached and the searing blast burned Marie who immediately used a stimpack on herself.
  Only two of the Rogue Fists, stunned, couldn’t hold up for long. Marie used up another stimpack as she was getting pinned down, but soon, they both fell. A while later the corporate soldiers had left the scene, having gotten what they came for.
  A dead end on the Rogue Fists’ quest.
  Marie was in the best condition, only two of her grenades detonation mechanism was damaged in the fight. She quickly headed to check on the rest of her teammates. Cyloo and Atrin were lightly wounded. Some minor injuries, but Dany was unresponsive. They did their best to bring him back, but it was to no avail.
  The crew stayed silent as they recovered whatever they could from the field, in an attempt to find a clue to the quest Dany had lead them on. Some damaged gear was all they found.
  They called in an ambulance to take care of the body and left.
  Back in the Hard Bargain, they spent the night gambling together, drinking and sharing stories of their past. “To Dany!” they raised their glasses.
  After they passed out drunk, Cyloo sneaked off, but by daybreak, he was back. “Where you’ve been?” Atrin asked.
  Cyloo didn’t answer. Instead he just threw an ID tag at the feet of Atrin. “Clase Rigers” it read. Atrin needn’t worry about him anymore.

  

  

  

  

  

  Session Summary

  So many possibilities! So much variety! The tables and resolutions of 5P provide ample room for story telling.
  For example in this particular case I didn’t chase after the remaining rival, but a roll on the events table in the end, had him removed.
  Or about Dany, I rolled his death on the injury table, tried to change his fate by spending a story point, and still had the same result. Then in the events table I rolled that the crew spends the night drinking and gambling and won a story point. Such a great way to narrate the mourning of Dany, and restore the story point I lost. Fit like a piece to a puzzle.
  Now, I’m one member short, and need to recruit someone ASAP, won’t go far with 3 strong.
  With regards to following the rules and making mistakes, I’m still learning, and since I find reading through a PDF much harder than a hardcopy, I made some mistakes, some which I corrected on the fly, some of which I let go. I totally forgot about the K’erin Luck Point – which might not have made a difference as two shots hit – so I balanced it out by not using Cyloo’s Luck Point either. I also forgot about about the stimpacks, and their number (3). After I remembered it was not too late, and I used two of them on Marie, but it didn’t make much of a difference.