This is the Blighthaven Mercenaries Warband, again from Ral Partha Europe. I really liked these sculpts. Went with a blue uniform color and striped black and white shields. My custom wash turned out a bit stronger than I expected, giving a more dirty look, but I enjoyed the final result. These are supposed to be field warriors not ceremonial.
So this session begins directly with combat from the previous session. I read the rules more clearly this time and getting stunned is important, as the stunned figure begins the next exchange at disadvantage (take the lowest of two dice). Lots of rules that, re-reading them makes things clear. This is a game with a lot of depth.
Evie orders the Wardens into three groups. The stronger warriors will approach from the opening to the west, while the followers will hold off the mob from the south.
She and the Roving Wanderer will provide covering fire with their bows from behind the fence.
The tower is overseeing the battlefield, but thankfully none of the enemies has ranged weapons. They are broken into three groups as well, one of them to a distance to the north of the tower.
Turn 1:
Seize Initiative: Fail
Agility: (11235556)
Evie: Shoot mob: 3+1: Miss
RW: Shoot mob: 4: Miss
Rudiger moves towards mob
Mob: Dashes towards Wardens
Gustav moves towards mob
Wigmar moves towards mob
SY: attacks mob: 6/3: Telling blow: 3: Wounded mob, 4/42: 2: Stunned mob, 1/53: Fumble.-
Frans: attacks mob: 4/1: 1: Stunned mob, 6/52: Telling blow: 1: Stunned mob, 3/56.-
WR: attacks mob: 1/3: Fumble, 1/33: Stunned WR: 5: WR Casualty.-
As the heavily armed Wardens close in from the west, covering fire doesn’t hit any of the enemies.
The mob attacks the followers. Blows are exchanged and the Stout Yeoman wounds his for. The Wily Rogue falls under the enemy.
The mob to the north runs quickly towards the Wardens.
Turn 2:
Agility: (1113356)
Gustav: attacks Cpt: 4+1/6+1: Telling blow, 42+1/4+1: Hit: 2: Armor Save: Knocked back. Stunned, 22+1/5+1: Hit: 4: Harm:4: Wounded Gustav.
Rudiger: attacks Cpt: 3+1/2+1: Hit: 2: Harm: 5: Cpt Casualty.-
Wigmar: attacks mob: 3/1: Hit: 2+1: Wounded, Stunned mob, 6/41: Telling blow, Stunned: 1+1: Stunned mob, 1/1: Fumble.-
Mob: attacks Rudiger: 6+1/1: Telling blow, Stunned mob: 4+1/53: 2: Stunned mob, 5+1/55: 3: Wounded mob. 2 Wounds. End of activation (15): Mob Casualty.
Mob: attacks Rudiger: 4+1/2: Exchange, 1/1: Fumble.-
Mob: attacks SY: 6/5: Telling blow, 1/64: Stunned, 16/1: Stunned. End of activation (1).
Mob: attacks NPC: 2/4: Hit: 2: Stunned NPC, 12/3: Stunned: 5: NPC Casualty.-
Mob: attacks SY: 4/2: Exchange, 4/4: Draw.-
Mob: dashes towards Wardens.
Mob: dashes towards Wardens.
RW: Shoot mob: 6: Hit: 2: No effect.-
Evie: Shoot mob: 2+1: Miss
SY: attacks mob: 3/1: 4: Mob Casualty.-
Gustav reaches the mob leader. By sheer luck the enemy finds an opening, and hits Gustav hard. His armor saves him. The enemy strike knocks him back a few yards. The leader hits again, this time passing the armor and wounding Gustav, who disengages.
Seeing the loyal servant wounded, Rudiger joins the fray. With a quick strike of his fine sword, he brings the mobster down.
Wigmar joins his companions, wounding a foe, before being pushed off.
The wounded enemy, charges at Rudiger, but the veteran warrior, blocks the strike, takes the upper hand and wounds him again. The wounds take their toll, and the foe drops.
The mob attacks to the south, bringing down the recruit from the town.
Their reinforcements from the north keep running to join their friends.
Evie and the Roving Wanderer shoot another hail of arrows and miss.
The Stout Yeoman, now stands alone against three, but he’s a strong man. He charges and kills an enemy with his hatchet, in a single blow.
Turn 3:
Agility: (112355)
Rudiger: attacks mob: 1/6: Stunned, telling blow: 53+1/2: Exchange, 1/5: Stunned.-
Gustav: attacks mob: 1+1/4: Stunned, 64+1/1: Stunned, 4+1/46: Hit: 4: Mob Casualty.-
The mob flees due to morale. The battle is won. The field is held.
Rudiger and Gustav press on, and a fourth foe, drops dead before their blades. Seeing their leader down and half their men dead, the cowards flee.
Aftermath:
WR: Injury: 79: Knocked Out.
NPC: Injury: 55: Light: 3 Recovery Time: Item Damaged: Weapon.
Desperate Mob has no loot.
Rudiger: +3XP
Evie: +2XP
Gustav: +2XP: LVLUP: 38: +1 Toughness
Wigmar: +2XP
RW: 10: Attribute Increase: +1 Combat Skill
SY: 9: Skill Gain: 92: Thick Headed
The Wardens tend to their wounded and search the field. There’s nothing usable to be found. In addition, the recruit has his weapon broken in two, and he will need to visit the town healer to recover.
Despite these shortcomings, the victory has raised the spirits, and they return to town, with morale high.
Again, reading through the rules I realized I forgot to implement some of them. Items get damaged on 00, 05. So retrospectively I will roll for Gustav’s weapon from the previous session. Also I forgot to take into account Gustav’s wound for this battle. In addition I always forget to account my Luck and Will points during combat, which is a major hindrance. Will certainly do so for next one.
Will in particular allows for extra moves and actions among others. I’d have Evie shoot twice more if I had noticed.
Gustav: Item damaged: Warhammer.
The next turn I return to town
Ardus: 2 Turns RT
NPC: 2 Turns RT
Ardus: Visit Town Healer: MEDICINE: 3: 1 Turns RT
NPC: Visit Town Healer: MEDICINE: 2: 1 Turns RT
Rudiger: Study: (1126): Parry Learned
The next turn I stay to town
Ardus: healed
NPC: healed
NPC: Visit Armorer: Weapon: 5: 5 Gold Marks to repair.
Evie: Study: (1355): No Skill learned.
Labor: 2 Gold Marks gained.
I head off to search again.
The next turn, I roll up another encounter in the countryside.
48: Combat Encounter: 73: Smugglers: 46: Encounter While Travelling: (45): 6 Smugglers: 5: + Lieutenant
Seize Initiative: 3: Failed
Distance: 15″ apart
Encounter Terrain: 99: Cave complex
Oddities: 54: Fenced In
After spending a few days in Eerfeld to recover, the warband heads off again to their search. Looking for a camp site, they fall upon a cave complex, with shady figures transporting boxes. “Smugglers.” Ardus says. He hasn’t managed to speak, before a whistle is heard. They’ve been made. They draw weapons and prepare for battle.
I decide to pause here.
I’ll be doing some bookkeeping as well here. Below you can find the table of my warband. On purpose to avoid SPOILERS I’ve not included the scenario NPC. Here you can also find the pdf of the Warband Roster.
| Name | Evie | Gustav | Rudiger | Ardus | Wigmar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agility | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Speed | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Combat Skill | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Toughness | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Luck | 2 | – | – | 1 | – |
| Will | 2 | – | 1 | – | – |
| Skills | Library,Medicine,Organization | Teaching,Tracking | ParryLeadership,Parry | – | |
| XP | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| LVL | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Weapons | Longbow, Dagger | Sword | Fine Sword | Bastard Sword | Bastard Sword |
| Armor | Light Armor | Partial Armor | Full Armor | Partial Armor | Partial Armor |
| Worn | Large Quiver | – | Helmet, Shield | Helmet | Helmet |
| Notes | Avatar | – | Retainer | – | – |
| Name | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature | Roving Wanderer | Stout Yeoman | Wily Rogue |
| Agility | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Speed | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Combat Skill | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Toughness | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Skill | Foraging | Thick Headed | |
| Weapons | Self Bow, Dagger | Hatchet | Sword |
| Armor | Light Armor | Light Armor | Light Armor |
| Notes | – | – | – |
Gold Marks 6
Medicinal Herbs 1
Story Points 1
Pistol
Icon
2 Damaged Basic Weapon
Damaged Militia Armor
Damaged Warhammer
Holy Water
Saddle Bag
Eerfeld (2,2,1)
Heagrove: (1,1,1)
Cebrook: (3,3,3)
I loved this combat! Everything move so naturally. Getting Stunned, completely changes the battlefield. On the other hand, implementation of both the Telling Blows and Fumbles rules was a tad bit too much. That’s at least 33% chance at each roll for a Stunned result. And there are usually 6 rolls at each exchange. I will probably keep only the Telling Blows rule for next game.
Five Leagues from the Borderlands is a very deep game. I will slowly be reading carefully each chapter, and after getting acquainted each session with a new part of the game I will delve into the respective rules. Next up: Will and Luck. Maybe positioning as well.
It’s time now to go The Sunken Temple. This is a Five Leagues Scenario. I realize that there’s a good chance for blog readers to want to play this scenario as well, so I’m not going to reveal any SPOILERS. I hate spoilers; spoilers can get me to stop halfway from reading books, watching a tv show, even a game. Therefore I intend to keep this light on the scenario story and mechanics, and heavy on photos and review part.
So, the party had one wounded party member with a recovery time of ‘2’, which is removable at once if they spend time on the healer, so I deem that the warband is at full strength as the scenario begins.
The Wardens have heard rumors and gotten hold of the map to an old temple in the surrounding region. Considering the chance for spoils, they decide to start a search.
At start the scenario gives you the chance to recruit a specific NPC. Since I’m at full strength, I decide not to go ahead with it.
So, while searching for the temple I rolled an encounter. This is an encounter mainly using the rules of the core Five Leagues game.
I went full on with optional rules in this, since I’m getting better acquainted with the ruleset.
Note: I’ll be displaying dice pool results in parentheses. (344) means 3d6 rolled giving 3,4,4 respectively.
Adventuring: 50: Combat Encounter: 82: Renegades: 60: Encounter While Travelling: (1,3): 5 Renegades (1 Archer): 1: No Leadership Presence: 5: Personality: 14: Sorcerer: Variations: (4,4): Manic, Stumbler
Deploying figures: 10″: 3 groups of 2 enemies
Seize Initiative: 11: Taken by surprise
Encounter terrain: Overgrown ruins
Oddities: 69: In the middle of battle: 3: Raider: (2,4): 5 Raiders (2 Archers): 3: No Leadership Presence: 6: Personality: 13: Sorcerer: Variations: (3,4): Sneaker, Stumbler
So, I rolled two groups of enemies that fight each other, without leaders, but with a Sorcerer at each group! If I’m lucky they’ll only attack each other. But it seems that my Wardens are too close to be left out of the equation.
Deep in the woods, the Wardens, see something reminding of a man-built structure. In the distance, they see several broken down walls and huge stone bricks scattered. Considering that this might be the temple they’re looking for, they come closer.
Then suddenly, an eerie feeling overcomes them. Some sort of dark energy, shoots in front of their sights, from west to the east. They look at each other. Then another, blast, from the other side, as a response.
As the woods clear a bit, they see two groups of men. The group to the west, is well armed, but their colors are not well defined. They look like deserters from an army. “Renegades” Rudiger whispers. They close in to the east towards the structure, only to be met from the other side by soldiers in Yellow and Crimson colors. Probably one of the border kingdoms. “Raiders” Ardus replies. Each of the two groups has a man that differentiates from the rest of the troops. Mumbling in some weird language, and pointing to the other side, these men seem to be the source of the dark energy. “Sorcerers” Evie completes.
Turn 1:
Renegades Doom: (556)
Raiders Doom: (444)
Turn 2:
Wardens appear
Seize Initiative: All characters move East
Agility: (12444666)
Realized I had placed Sneaker on board. They will appear on next Turn.
1: Evie: Move 2.5E: Shoot Raider Archer: 2: Miss
2: Gustav Move 5SE
Renegades:
Archer Moves 2.5E: Shoots Roving Wanderer: 3: Miss
Swordsman Moves to Wall
Swordsman moves towards Raiders
Sorcerer moves towards Raiders: Doom: (233)
Maniac moves towards Raiders
Stumbler moves towards Raiders
Raiders:
Archer shoots Ardus: 6: Hits: 4: Harm: 5: Casualty
Sorcerer: Doom Gustav: (114): Doom!
Stumbler moves towards Wardens
Archer shoots at Renegade Swordsman: 1: Miss
Swordsman moves towards Renegades
Wardens:
Gustav melee against Stumbler: (11): Draw: End
Roving Wanderer shoots Renegade Archer: 3: Miss
Rudiger moves 5 towards Raiders
The two groups towards each other, but the Northernmost troops have been alerted by the presence of the Wardens who try to flank the Raiders. Evie shoots at a Renegade archer who climbs on top of the hill, but misses. In response, he aims carefully and shoots at the roving wanderer and misses too. The Raiders seem to find their target. A Raider archer shoots at Ardus and brings him down, while their Sorcerer speaks some words in an arcane language. A dark blast leaves his finger and finds Gustav right on the chest. He feels overwhelmed, but grits on and continues.
Turn 3:
Agility: (1223335)
1:Evie moves 2.5E: Shoots Stumbler: 4: Miss
2:Rudiger melee against Archer: (12): Archer Wins: (63): Rudiger Wins: (41): Rudiger Hits: 2: Armor Saved
Renegades:
Archer Shoots Roving Wanderer: 5: Hit: 6: Casualty
Swordsman Climbs Wall and Moves 3 towards Wardens
Swordsman moves towards Raiders
Sorcerer moves towards Raiders: Doom: (266)
Maniac moves towards Raiders
Stumbler moves towards Raiders
Raiders:
Sneaker appears: behind Wardens 8″ away from edge: attacks Rudiger: 11: Draw
Archer shoots Rudiger: 6: Hits: 6: Harm: 2: Not wounded
Sorcerer: Doom Rudiger: (366)
Stumbler attacks Gustav: (32): Wins: 3: Harm: 5: Casualty
Archer shoots at Renegade Maniac: 6: Hit: 4: Harm: 5: Casualty
Swordsman melee against Renegades: (32): Wins: 2: Armor Save
Brave Sir Robin
Evie takes a shot at a Raider archer, but misses. Rudiger, flanking the Raiders comes in to close combat with the archer. They exchange a couple of glancing blows, and then Rudiger finds an opening, but unfortunately, the enemy’s breastplate protects them.
The Renegade archer shoots again at the roving wanderer, from the top of the hill, having a clear line of sight, and brings him down with an arrow. The rest of the Renegades close further in to the Wardens and the Raiders, as their Sorcerer shoots another bolt to the Raiders, missing again.
Suddenly, Rudiger realizes a Raider was hiding behind him. “That sneaky bastard!” he thinks as the Raider charges in. Rudiger’s skill is matched by his opponent, and as soon as the Raider loses the element of surprise, he disengages. The archer next to him, finds the opportunity as Rudiger has his back turned, and shoots him. The arrow pierces the armor, but it’s only a flesh wound. Rudiger doesn’t seem to bother, and screams a war cry towards the archer. All this draws the attention of the Sorcerer who now casts his spell to Rudiger, but the blast seems to miss and fizzles away.
Another Raider comes into combat with Gustav. The faithful servant of Evie, now falls beneath the enemy’s strike.
The rest of the Raiders attack the Renegades, one Renegade falling under an arrow.
Evie sees the enemy’s strength. These are not any ill-equipped mooks. She sees that the ruins are those of a tower, and not a temple. She considers the tactical situation, flanked by both sides. She thinks of the three wardens fallen under the enemy. She screams “Flee! Flee bravely!”. And they take their wounded away to fight another day. Let the Renegades fight it out with the Raiders. There’s no point trying to hold this field.
So I decided in using the Brave Sir Robin option from Five Leagues rulebook, to flee. I could have tried to flee to the edge of the battle, but considering the dice rolls, there was a lot of chance I could have lost another Warden, and it’s something I wasn’t willing to risk.
Aftermath:
Ardus: 32: Serious: (26): 6 Turns Recovery Time
Roving Wanderer: 96: Knocked Out
Gustav: 90: Knocked Out
Evie: +1XP: 1
Rudiger: +1XP: LVL UP (3): 31: +1 Combat Skill
The Wardens regroup in a safe distance. The Roving Wanderer and Gustav recover, as their wounds are superficial, but Ardus’ wound is deep. The arrow has lodged itself into the bone. “We need to take him to the healer.” Evie says, and they all decide to return to Eerfeld, their morale low.
The next turn I return to town
Ardus: 5 Turns RT
Ardus: Visit Town Healer: MEDICINE: 6: 3 Turns RT
Roving Wanderer: Foraging: (22356): 1 Healing Herbs
Evie: Study: (2533): No skill learned
I decide to recruit the NPC, and head off to search again.
The next turn, I roll up another encounter in the countryside.
Roadside AND Combat Encounter: 29,81: Friendly Pilgrim: 46: Slavers: 95: Located Lair: (56): 11 Slavers + Lt + Cpt: Retreat without engaging
On the road, the group meets up with a cloaked figure in robes. “Greetings travelers.” He says. He has a very kind visage, and they all sit and break bread together. Once the meal is over, they each go on their own way, spirits higher than they used to be.
It’s not long after they have split apart, when the Roving Wanderer comes back with news. He whispers something to Evie, and they go together to scout. Evie sees what seems to be a slaver lair. Their numbers are high, she counts at least 13 heads. She ponders a bit, and then she decides not to engage, and continue the search.
The next turn, I roll up yet another encounter.
Combat Encounter: 61: Desperate Mob: 28: Encounter While Travelling: (33): 7 Desperate Mob: 6: + Captain
Seize Initiative: 5: Failed
Distance: 8″ apart
Encounter Terrain: 90: Ruined Tower
Oddities: 46: Ruined Structure
As the group turns behind a curve in the road, they see a ruined tower. “At them boys!” the Wardens hear a scream, and they see 8 ragged bandits, in a mob coming towards them with clubs and staves.
The Wardens draw their swords, and combat is about to begin.
I decide to pause here
It’s been a tough few past days in RL, and I’m kind of exhausted, so my narrative is a bit short, considering.
The scenario seems to be very interesting, but I have yet to manage to progress, since the dice were not in my favor. I can’t speak much as to the scenario therefore. Most of the time has been spent so far in traditional core Five Leagues from the Borderlands, within the scenario. But I like what I have read so far. On purpose I haven’t read through the entire thing, just in case there’s a spoiler waiting for me. Since this is all aimed at solo play, it would be nice if there would be a note somewhere saying if we’re supposed to read through the entire thing or not before playing, or playing as we go. So far, that’s my only thing to consider.
Now to the core Five Leagues game, I really loved the option to fight two different groups, even though I failed to hold my ground. The oddities and all the random tables seem to give a very unique experience with high replayability.
I need to do some better bookkeeping of my Wardens, maybe create that map of the region, with notes, and maybe add some pictures of the minis I use as Wardens. Also maybe I should spend some time naming the followers and unique NPCs I’ve met along the way. I’m not sure as to which one of all those is worth the trouble putting into, but I’m pretty confident that a map would be the best place to start.
This is the Town Guard Blighthaven warband from Ral Partha. The pack is taken from the Nobles from the Demonworld line, and according to the site description, they are supposed to be better equipped than the Mercenaries warband (coming soon).
What was really evident from this is the difficulty to paint Yellow and less so, Red. Part of the reason, I got me later on a set of acrylic inks.
Also I didn’t know at the time that Lemon Yellow has a green tint. That and Crimson which I used, are not Primary colors, but close. Nevertheless I enjoyed the final result since they make a nice contrast together. I also like the heraldry choice.
So, this is the Southern Death Cult Blighthaven warband drawn from the Demonworld line of Ral Partha miniatures. It contains 7 cloaked figures, and 3 zombies. Actually 2 of the cloaked figures could be zombies as well. They double in their role. For me they fill mostly a role of the broken back cultist servant, since they are cloaked but don’t sport masks as the rest of them.
For colors I went with purple cloaks and metallic masks. For the zombies I put some Crimson Red in their wounds, and used the rust technique from the Skeletons.
What I did different this time was basing. I went with a mix of baking soda and some coffee grinds for a better sand look. Using baking soda as basing material is a well known technique in the miniatures painting circles, especially in a combination with cyanoacrylate glue (super glue) as it creates nice texturing when setting, and it sets quickly. You need to take extra care though, as it’s very easy to travel upwards to the feet of your minis.
I’ll start my session with some leftover bookkeeping.
Camthalion started with 40 arrows. He spent 4 of them the previous night against the Orcs and Troll. I’ll deem 1d5-1 of them are recovered: 1. I also deem that in the last fight there was no time to recover any arrows, so all 7 of them are consumed. Arrows: 40-3-7= 30 Arrows remaining.
Some calculations regarding food:
| Rations | Days |
|---|---|
| Camthalion | 3 |
| Dwalin | 3 |
| Leowyn | 5 |
Going with BOLD again to roll up some connections.
| action | gerund | subject |
|---|---|---|
| speculate | lying | friends or family |
| guide | preparing | a possession |
| protest | understanding | your nature |
Day 5
Watch 1: 33/93: No Encounter
Watch 2: 86/19: sighting. Harnmaster: 52: Ursine [Bear]: 76: Stalking/Hunting or Fleeing Predator. Since Bears are Predators, I deem it’s Stalking.
Resting, each member regains hit points. Dwalin goes up to 11 hit points and Leowyn at 25 hit points.
Q: Does the bear feel threatened by the party?
A: No, but, it feels threatened by the dwarf stranger.
Camthalion stands watch, as the party rests. Under the dim light of the morning stars, he can make out the huge mass of a bear in the distance. At first he doesn’t pay any attention, but then he notices that the bear goes in the stranger’s general direction. It has sniffed the scent of the dwarf, and changes pace to a charge, as it lets of a roar and lunges towards the stout dwarf.
So I need to decide what the party will do. I decide they will try to help the dwarf in his fight against the bear. Maybe an ally is to be gained.
First of all I need to decide the distance. Since the dwarf was in sight, I decide that he was in the ‘Fairly Well’ night vision range of 100′.
I decide to use the premade character Bali Redhelm for the stranger dwarf.
The bear is a black bear, since these are nocturnal hunters and aggressive.
Camthalion: Nooks an arrow.
Bear: Move 95′ towards Bali
Bali: Move 5′ and attack with his Warhammer: 83+58+5-30=116: 15D: 90+10=100: Blow to jaw. Drives bone into brain. Dies instantly.
…I didn’t expect it to end that fast. Speaks to the lethality of MERP. This could have been a PC.
As Camthalion readies his bow and aims, the bear reaches the dwarf. He reacts with absolute calmness, and with a calculated strike, with all his might, he brings his warhammer in an upward motion, and hits the bear in the jaw. Without a scream or a cry, the animal, falls back. Motionless.
Q: Does the dwarf notice Camthalion ready to help?
A: No
Q: Does the rest of the party wake up?
A: Yes, but they’re still sleepy
“What… is it archer?” Dwalin asks Camthalion.
“This fellow dwarf, was about to be shred to pieces by a black bear. But his skill with the hammer saved his life.” The elf replies.
Now, here’s a chance to use a BOLD Connection.
“Another Dwarf? A warrior? Here in Rhudaur?!” Dwalin wakes up quickly. “We should help him, and he will return the favor. Us Dwarves stick together. Especially in perilous lands such as these. Come, come!” He stands up, and starts walking towards the stranger with his arms wide open, in a gesture of good will.
I think this covers “guide, understanding, your nature” as a BOLD connection.
| action | gerund | subject |
|---|---|---|
| speculate | lying | friends or family |
| preparing | a possession | |
| protest |
I will roll 1d100 to see the reaction of Bali? to the group. 38.
It’s on the negative side, but considering he’s meeting a fellow Dwarf, I’d consider him, let’s say slightly annoyed, but not hostile.
He’s Sober, Quiet and Pugnacious (learned a new word here) according to his character sheet.
Rolling on UNE Conversation Mood for ‘distrustful’: 56: Neutral.
I choose a Prejudiced NPC Bearing: 17: Doubt.
NPC Focus: 2: Current Scene.
“For a fellow Khazad, you didn’t help much with the bear. And now you come as friend?” The stranger scoffs.
“I was asleep. We were fighting orcs just yesterday, and I was resting from the battle. The elf was keeping watch.” Dwalin responds.
“An elf? How can you be friends with these tree lovers?” The stranger says.
“He’s proven himself. It was him that saved my life and the Rohirim’s. I’m certain that while you were fighting the bear, he’s had an arrow cocked and ready, aimed at the beast.” Dwalin says firmly.
So, I initially wanted to try and use some ‘Influence’ skill and roll on the respective MERP chart. But it seems that the social skills although existent, they’re much like OD&D Charisma. The players are supposed to roleplay the situation with the GM. Rolling is an afterthought for specific situations. Similarly here, the odds for trying something are terrible. Since in solo play we’re both player and GM, I need to delegate the GM to the Oracle.
“My name is Dwalin.” The dwarf steps up and says proudly. “My elf companion is Camthalion and the shield maiden is called Leowyn. We’re on a task to recover a Khazadin relic. Maybe rescue a hapless villager from the Last Inn who was taken by trolls most likely. We fell a troll, but we lost the tracks and reached an abandoned lair filled with orcs. We killed more than a handful before scaring them away. After striking fear into the hearts of our enemies, we camped here. Would you care to join us while we travel in Rhudaur? We could use another strong arm.”
Q: Does Bali agree to join them? (I’ll give it 50/50 since he’s doubtful).
A: False Presupposition.
This Dwarf is not Bali Redhelm. Time to roll on UNE.
Also it’s a No, since it was double 2s.
UNE: cunning preacher
Q: Does he share his name?
A: False Presupposition. I’ll reroll: No, but he doesn’t insult them. He just avoids sharing it.
“My path takes me elsewhere. And I need to be on my destination soon. What is this relic you seek, maybe if I fall upon it on my travels, I will seek you out Dwalin.” The dwarf responds.
I decide that this triggers Dwalin’s Suspicious Personality. It’s a good opportunity also to use another BOLD connection.
“It’s a trinket actually, nothing to lose your sleep over. We shall find it on our own. Walk in peace friend.” Dwalin responds, and Camthalion looks at him sideways. He was afraid the dwarf would spill out more information, but he was smarter than his rugged looks showed. He turned 180 degrees approach when he suspected the stranger, even a member of his own people.
I think this covers speculate, lying, a possession.
| action | gerund | subject |
|---|---|---|
| friends or family | ||
| preparing | ||
| protest |
As the sun rises, the party gathers their belongings and tries to find more hill troll tracks.
Scouting: 18+30+11= 59: Failure. You gain no information, but you think you have learned everything available. You may not try again on the same topic in the same area for 1 day.
3rd Watch: Encounters: 44-(4-90)=130. hostile group, social beings.
So, I also roll on the Harnmaster Encounter table, and get Human Adventurer: Questing. Since it’s a day, this all fits well. Reading through the sample adventure I decide that they fell upon a Hillman. Typically hillmen travel in patrols, but since the sample adventure has the typical hillman at Level 4, and the party is wounded, I’ll only place one against them.
As a side note I discovered that for encounters, MERP uses the same 4-hour unit as Harnmaster, which fits nicely, but for camping periods, you only roll once. Seems I made things tougher for the party without knowing.
As the party tries to find troll tracks, they unsuspectingly fall upon a towering man with crude wool tunic with leggings, wearing a rough over-coat and fur hat. He has a rudy complexion, and wields a broadsword. He smiles wickedly as he sees them.
“I knew something smelled terrible. A dwarf and a rohirim! That’s my kind of day! The ancestors will be pleased.” He nods to Camthalion. “Leave, and I will spare your life.”
“Dunledings.” Leowyn whispers. “There could be more hiding in the trees”
Perception (Dunleding): 59+38=97. Near Success.
“I’m more than enough for you!” He yells at Leowyn and charges with his sword.
Distance: 1d10x10’=70′
Camthalion nooks an arrow.
Hillman: Moves to attack: 35′. Doesn’t reach Dwalin.
Dwalin: Moves to attack: 22′ Doesn’t reach Hillman.
Leowyn: Moves to attack: 18′ Doesn’t reach Hillman.
Camthalion shoots Hillman: 36+48+10=94: 7A:80-20=60: Strike along side of chest. 1 hit per round. Stunned 1 round.
Hillman: Stunned.
Dwalin: Moves to attack (41): 60-100-20+(51+15)/2-10= -17: 0
Leowyn: Moves to attack (17): 50-100+(38+15)/2-10=-34: 0
Camthalion nooks an arrow.
Hillman: attacks (50/50): Leowyn: 61+52-40=73: 4
Dwalin: attacks Hillman: 54+51+15-10=110: 11B: 14-10=4: Weak grip. No extra damage. +0 hits.
Leowyn: attacks Hillman: 03: Fumble: 85-10=75: You stumble. The classless display leaves you stunned for 2 rounds. With luck, you might still survive.
Camthalion shoots Hillman: 55+48+10=113: 13B: 55-10=45: Minor forearm wound. +2 hits. If no arm armor: stunned 1 round.
Hillman: stunned.
Dwalin: attacks Hillman: 66+51+15-10=122: 15C: 86: Blow to weapon arm. +8 hits. Stunned 2 rounds. If no arm armor: tendon damaged, arm broken and useless.
This is no Monty Python movie, the Hillman yields.
The two opposing sides advance towards each other as Camthalion covers the party with his bow. By the time they have made contact, an arrow is already flying, striking the hillman past his armor, and along his chest. He loses his concentration as he starts bleeding, but manages to fend off both Dwalin and Leowyn.
Camthalion readies his bow again, as the hillman tries to wound Leowyn, but his strike is parried. Dwalin hits him, but the blow isn’t spectacular. The same can’t be said about Leowyn’s stumble. She gets entangled into a tree root and loses her balance going head on to the ground.
The hillman sees his opportunity against Leowyn but has no chance to act upon it, as another arrow hits him, this time on the arm, and he pulls back his blade instictively.
Disoriented as he is, Dwalin brings down his mace on the forearm, crushing his tendon. The sword falls and clatters to the ground. The man screams as he falls to his knees. “I yield, I yield. Spare me!” He yells.
Camthalion gains 60 EP for the two criticals scored, but Dwalin gave the final blow, gaining the rest of the 290 EP.
Leowyn gains 4 EP for being hit.
Leowyn moves closer, to finish off the Dunleding, but Camthalion intervenes. “Don’t do something you might regret later child.”
“Like letting him live? He’d have us strung by our vocal cords.” She answers. “If we let him live he will find his tribe, and they will get ready will fall upon us when we least expect them!”
The last BOLD connection is finished. Protest, preparing, friends or family.
“It’s a risk we must take. Don’t give in. Let him go.” Camthalion says in a more confident manner.
Leowyn lowers her blade. She sees the hillman’s bleeding wound. “The wolves will get his smell after all. RUN!” She screams at the man, who stumbles away and runs in shame.
4th Watch: 03/59: No encounter.
Scouting for orc tracks: 24+30+11: Failure. You gain no information, but you think you have learned everything available. You may not try again on the same topic in the same area for 1 day.
5th Watch: Camping: Camthalion casts Surface Ways on Dwalin: 71: Success: Heals 7 hits.
5th-2nd Watch (Overnight): 153/11: Hostile (wild animal): 5 Wild Cats, Hunting.
In which watch? 1st Watch. The party has rested 12 hours. Dwalin is at 32 hit points, and Leowyn is at full hp.
Who is on watch? Leowyn.
Leowyn is on watch when she notices some movement in the shadows. The glimmer of eyes in the darkness. She tosses a small pebble and wakes up Dwalin and Camthalion. Their darkvision helps them see clearly where the human had failed. A handful of wild cats is encircling them.
“Fire! Light a fire!” Dwalin whispers to her.
Q: Does Leowyn light the fire before the wild cats attack?
A: False presupposition. Seriously? The wild cats never attack. They flee.
As Leowyn starts hitting flint & steel to light a fire, the wild cats move away. Was it the armed party, awake against them? was it something else that scared them? For whatever reason, they left. And Leowyn stopped. The fire might save them from wild cats, but it would draw in any orc nearby.
| Name | Days Rations |
|---|---|
| Camthalion | 2 |
| Dwalin | 2 |
| Leowyn | 4 |
Arrows: Recovered 1d3-1: 0 Arrows. Camthalion is at 28 arrows.
Hit Points: Camthalion and Leowyn are at full. Dwalin is at 36 hit points.
EP: Camthalion, with Spellcasting, has gained 160 EP. Dwalin has gained 290 EP. And Leowyn 4 EP. This gives 227 Idea EP. Dwalin gets 151 EP more for a total of 441 and Leowyn 76 for a total of 80.
Adding up the previous session’s EP.
| Name | Experience Points |
|---|---|
| Camthalion | 2363 EP |
| Leowyn | 1661 EP |
| Dwalin | 3033 EP |
So, I made a few mistakes in this session. Combining more than one encounter system causes problems in interpretation. Everything worked out in the end, but at times it felt as if I was choosing the best option.
Also retrospectively I might have misinterpreted the wild cats situation. It’s in the start of winter, most likely the party would be sleeping with the fire lit, not put out.
Maybe I should start monitoring the calendar more closely, but I’m trying to cover so many bases, some things get lost. I had to retrospectively make Camthalion recover arrows and heal Dwalin. In a social ttrpg, the GM would have said to the player “well, you forgot”, but I’m cutting myself some slack here.
MERP is a crunchy system and it’s starting to drag. Combat is really nice. I enjoy every moment of it. Even though the movement and initiative mechanics leave a lot to be desired, the resolution is beautiful. The tables provide all the narrative feedback I need. My main problem is the rest of the system. It’s quite broken with the success range being really hard to reach, which causes a pain to the solo player. I want to have a system that can support me, and not have to reach out to the oracle every now and then. It’s three days and nights already that the party is looking for Ledon, and I seriously doubt they will get to him alive, which would be totally okay, if I didn’t think its the system I use.
I think a hexflower would be a great addition for searching/tracking in solo play. I just might create one. The issue is that I have a known map, where the party runs around. Even with failed tracking rolls, there’s a chance they might fall on their destination by chance, which I can’t account for now.
Also the topic with Ledon fits perfectly with my Secret Clocks framework. How could I have missed this? I think I’ll start retrospectively as well for next session.
Truth is I wanted to try out MERP on it’s own, with as few overlays as possible, but I see now that this isn’t feasible.
Therefore I’ll add my overlays, and see where it gets me from there.
Here’s my Skeleton warband from Blighthaven line of Ral Partha Europe miniatures.
For the paint scheme, I didn’t follow my standard black prime + white sketching. Instead I tried to follow as close as possible, the Skeleton painting guide from the Warhammer Fantasy Battles 4th edition core rulebook.
So it was a white primer+white undercoat, followed by a brown/yellow 50/50 wash. Then I drybrushed with yellow ochre, followed by a drybrush of white. I finished it with the classic black/brown wash in the end. To give the rusty look on weapons I drybrushed them with a 50/50 Vermillion/Burnt Sienna. I learned my lesson from the dark brown wood I had painted, and lightened my brown with white and yellow for the bows and spears. My only failure was my attempt at purple cloaks, which turned out to be a gray mauve instead.
Here’s my Blighthaven goblin warband, which includes a dozen different goblins with different poses!
For colors, I went with Viridian green for the skin color. It’s a bluish green. I could have gone with a more traditional green, but it was the only one I had available at the time, and I think it gives a nice distinct tone in comparison to other greenskins.
Since this is a warband, I tried to keep a uniform color and went with Yellow Ochre for the clothing. It gives a ragged look that I really enjoyed. I had a rough time painting it over the black parts of the undercoat, and later on I found that proper thinning of the paint maybe with a slight dab of an ink of the same color helps, but I didn’t know it at the time.
I also discovered that Raw Umber, the brown color I used to paint the wooden parts of the spears and the bows, is very dark. Dark colors aren’t very much suited to 15mm, because it’s hard for the eye to make out the details at table distance.
Kamalom Usha. A temperate, human miscible planet, with a breathable atmosphere. A simple colony in the vast reaches of space. The Orks have a strong presence on the planet, but Tallion and his squad of Eldar Guardians could not abandon their mission. The artifact they recovered needed to be extracted. The shuttle would arrive any moment now at the top of the hill. All they had to do was get past the Orks standing in their way.
The scenario is simple. The Eldar squad needs to get to the top of the hill within 6 turns. The Orks have to stop them.
For miniatures, I’ll be using Alternative Armies 15mm.co.uk miniatures from the Ion Age range.
As a Rules system I’ll be using again Clash on the Fringe, I really enjoyed playing it in my first session, so I’m sticking with it for consistency’s sake.
| Eldar (Precursors, Hardened Veteran) | Speed | Survival | Discipline | Morale | Training | Armor | Weapons | Traits | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leader | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | Hard suit | Pulse Rifle | Few in number, Resent brutality, Bond, Sentry, Leader (2) | 74 | |
| Hero | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | Hard suit | Pulse Rifle | Few in number, Resent brutality, Bond, Sentry, Hero | 74 | |
| Trooper | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | Hard suit | Pulse Rifle | Few in number, Resent brutality, Bond, Sentry | 54 | |
| Trooper | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | Hard suit | Pulse Rifle | Few in number, Resent brutality, Bond, Sentry | 54 | |
| Trooper | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | Hard suit | Pulse Rifle | Few in number, Resent brutality, Bond, Sentry | 54 | |
| 310 | ||||||||||
| Orcs (Brutes, Conscript) | Speed | Survival | Discipline | Morale | Training | Armor | Weapons | Traits | ||
| Leader | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | Protective Jacket | Knife, Pistol | Smash, Resilient, Direct | 43 | |
| Trooper | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | Protective Jacket | Carbine | Smash, Resilient, Direct | 37 | |
| Trooper | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | Protective Jacket | Carbine | Smash, Resilient, Direct | 37 | |
| Trooper | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | Protective Jacket | Carbine | Smash, Resilient, Direct | 37 | |
| Trooper | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | Protective Jacket | Carbine | Smash, Resilient, Direct | 37 | |
| Trooper | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | Protective Jacket | Carbine/Bayonet | Smash, Resilient, Direct | 39 | |
| Trooper | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | Protective Jacket | Carbine/Bayonet | Smash, Resilient, Direct | 39 | |
| Trooper | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | Protective Jacket | Carbine/Bayonet | Smash, Resilient, Direct | 39 | |
| 308 |
As I had said in my first session, there is an implied setting of the Fringe, which can easily be adapted to most known sci-fi universes. For Conversions I used the Precursors as Eldar, and Brutes as Orks. Since the Orks are larger in number (8 vs 5) I had to give them worse training, armor and equipment, to have things balance.
Initiative: Orks win
Activate: Squad
Action: Engage
Ork1: Shoots Eldar: Miss: Moves 4″: Reaction Fire: Hit: Survival: Failure: Ork1 is down: Morale: Failure: 1 Stress
Ork2: Shoots Eldar: Miss: Moves 4″: Reaction Fire: Miss, Miss, Miss, Heads Down
Ork3: Shoots Eldar: Miss: Moves 4″
Ork4: Shoots Eldar: Miss: Moves 4″
Ork5: Shoots Eldar: Miss: Moves 4″
Ork6: Shoots Eldar: Miss: Moves 4″
Ork7: Shoots Eldar: Miss: Moves 4″
Ork Leader: Shoots Eldar: Miss: Moves 4″
Ork Leader orders Ork7 to Move it: Moves 4″
Initiative: Eldar failed to activate
Snozguk saw the pompous Eldar march towards the top of the hill where the white flare pointed.
“Ere we go, ere we go, ere we go! Get da filty eldar. Don’t let im escape” He screams to his troops.
They shoot their las carbines but they all miss. The range is too great for their weaponry. The march onwards towards the treeline, and the Eldar return fire. One Ork falls from the Shuriken, while another drops down in search for cover. “Dey will kill us!” he screams.
Tallion is indecisive. He can’t tell if they have the advantage, and doesn’t give any order to the squad. The Eldar stand there, waiting for his orders.
Initiative: Eldar win
Activate: Squad
Action: Engage
Eldar1: Moves 6″: Shoots Ork7: Miss
Eldar2: Moves 6″: Shoots Ork3: Hit: Survived: Heads Down
Eldar3: Moves 6″: Shoots Ork2: Hit: Survived: Heads Down x2
Eldar Hero: Moves 8″: Shoots Ork4: Miss
Eldar Leader: Moves 6″ Shoots Ork4: Hit: Survival: Failure. Morale: Success. Orders Hero: Attack: Ork5: Miss
Initiative: Orks succeed
Activate: Squad
Action: Engage
Ork2: Heads Down: Failure
Ork3: Heads Down: Failure
Ork5: Shoots Eldar2 within Assault: Hit: Survival: Success: Heads Down
Ork6: Moves 5″: Reaction Fire: Heads Down, Miss, Miss
Ork7: Moves 5″: Shoots Eldar2: Miss
Ork Leader: Moves 5″: Shoots Eldar3: Miss: Orders Ork3: Keep it together!
Ork3: Moves 5″: Shoots Eldar2: Heads Down
Tallion takes command, and orders his guardians forward, as far away from the Orks as possible, out in the open, in a Move and Shoot tactic. They’re too far to get reaction fire from the Orks, but their Shuriken weaponry shoots true. They pin down two more Orks, and Tallion kills one of them. Odds are turning to their favor.
Snozguk screams, and gets one Ork to shake it off. He shoots at the Eldar and suppresses a guardian. But, none of the rest manage to get a proper shot. Under the reaction fire, another Ork is pinned down. Snozguk is uncertain of their success.
Initiative: Eldar win
Activate: Squad
Action: Engage
Eldar Hero: Shoots Ork3: Hit: Survived: Moves 6″
Eldar2: Heads Down: Success: Shoots Ork3: Success: Survival: Failure: Morale: Failure: Stress 2. Moves 6″
Eldar1: Moves 6″: Shoots Ork7: Miss
Eldar3: Moves 6″: Shoots Ork7: Hit: Survival: Survived
Eldar Leader: Shoots Ork5: Hit: Survival: Failure: Morale: Failure: Stress 3: All Fire is Unaimed. Moves 6″. Orders: Eldar Hero: Shoots Ork7: Miss
Initiative: Orks
Activate: Squad
Action: Storm
Leader: Orders Ork2: Keep it together: Shoots Eldar3: Miss: Moves 5″: Storms: Eldar Wins: Survival: Failure: Leader down: Morale: Failure: Stress 4: Orks are broken.
Tallion orders his squad to shoot again and move. The Eldar bond is strong, and the guardian is no longer suppressed. They kill two more Orks, and their morale starts wavering. They close up to the hill and the Orks charge in return. Snozguk gets in close combat with an Eldar. The fierce Ork Leader is much stronger than the Eldar guardian, but he is unsure. This fear is obvious to the space elf, who finds the opportunity and blocks the knife strike with his rifle. He kicks off Snozguk, who falls to the floor, and follows through with a kill shot.
Seeing their leader down, the rest of the space Orks disperse and flee.
Tallion and his squad reach the top of the hill and are extracted to safety before any more of the greenskins arrive.
The Eldar receive 3BP. I spend 2 points to increase Tallion’s Training by 1.
Again, the game was fast! I may have done a mistake or two here and there, but it was enjoyable. The Eldar may have lost the first round of Initiative, but their reaction fire in the first round gave them the upper hand. The orks didn’t have the numbers and the Eldar troop quality was now evident.
Also I didn’t bother much about terrain rules. Something about entering woods and such makes me lazy. Maybe after I have more than a few games under my belt I’ll take it under consideration. I don’t have the rules in print and going back and forth in PDF from the game board isn’t to my liking.
In the past year, staying inside, I started painting miniatures. After reading this blogpost, I discovered the world of 15mm miniatures. Very affordable, at less than half a buck a piece, and requiring smaller gaming and storage space.
I was really intrigued by the Blighthaven Warbands by Ral Partha Europe, skirmish packs, drawn by their Demonworld 15mm fantasy line. I knew Ral Partha from when I was a teenager playing Dragon Quest, and was curious as to their quality. Shipping was reasonable to where I live, and so I ordered my first pack, a variety of adventurers.
The miniatures arrived back in the start of 2020 and I was quite scared at first trying to paint them, especially considering the 15mm size. So, I waited a few months before I begun.
I didn’t want to spend too much on a hobby I wasn’t sure I would enjoy, or would be good at, so I got my painting tools from a variety of sources. A cheap set of brushes from ebay, and a cheaper one from the dollar store (for drybrushing, priming and varnishes). A set of acrylic paints from the dollar store, and an Amsterdam crafts satin varnish. In the meantime Ral Partha introduced their Miniature Paints, and I got a Black and a White Primer, some metallics and a Matt Varnish.
I read a lot, and taking under consideration various techniques I chose what I believe fits best to my skill base and expectations. My concerns were my unsteady hands which aren’t suited to highlighting techniques and partial color blindness (I can see all colors fine, but fail all Isibara tests) so I wanted to avoid mixing my own shades.
Steps followed:
All in all I really enjoyed the process. I was very happy with the end results. They’re not competition level or anything, but they’re table-ready and they’re done by me!
So, without further ado, I present you my band of adventurers.
You may have seen them here and there in several of my actual play reports. I intend to upload retrospective snaps of all of my painted miniatures in the future, so expect more to come.
Solo, Pen, Paper and Dice 
Reply