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  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 9:29 pm on June 6, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , ,   

    The Wardens of Gahyrst. Ep02. 

    So in the end of the previous session I forgot to run experience rolls for my warband. I assigned the XP awards and rolled to see if my surviving follower (Angry Villager) had any upgrade, but to no avail.

    Heroes

    NameEvieGustavRudigerArdus
    Agility1112
    Speed5455
    Combat Skill0000
    Toughness4433
    Will1–––
    Luck2–––
    SkillsLibrary,Medicine––Leadership,Parry
    XP1132
    LVL0000
    WeaponsLong Bow, DaggerSwordBastard SwordBastard Sword
    ArmorLight ArmorLight ArmorFull Armor, Helmet, ShieldPartial Armor
    NotesAvatar–Retainer–

    Followers

    Name   
    NatureRoving WandererStout YeomanAngry Villager
    Skill   
    WeaponsSelf Bow, DaggerWar AxeStaff
    ArmorMilitia ArmorLight Armor–
    Notes–––

    Gold Marks 13
    Medicinal Herbs 1
    Story Points 1
    Warhammer
    Pistol
    Sword

    Time to name the two other villages
    donjon.bin.sh : Heagrove, Cebrook

    Current village: Eerfeld (2,2,4)
    Heagrove: (1,1,1)
    Cebrook: (3,3,3)

    Will need to draw a map in the future
    Village Events: Wandering merchant
    Pay Upkeep: 7 members, no extra cost
    Healing Up: No wounded
    Carry Out Activities:
    Evie: Study: 2,3,5,6: Gained Skill: Organization
    Rudiger: Train: XP (4) Increase Level: Roll: Agility: +1
    Outfitting for adventuring:
    I’ll give the Warhammer to Gustav, and put his Sword in the backpack.
    So now, we’re going adventuring!

    Bruised and battered, the Wardens regroup, after having buried one of their own. The first death in their band weighs heavily. Evie heads to the library for further studying to escape the thought that a man died under her command, while Rudiger puts his skills to the test, training against wooden poles.

    No one pays attention to the wandering merchant showing off his wares. Their dead brother in arms was swindled a week ago, and all this is a cruel reminder.

    A couple days pass, and Evie sends word for them to gather once more.

    “Wardens. We suffered a loss, but must not stop now. The people of Eerfeld need us. Gather yourselves, and come back here in an hour, armed. We’re heading out.”

    Adventuring: Combat Encounter
    Facing: Dark Secrets
    Encounter: Cultists
    Encounter Type: Attacked by Enemy
    Enemy number (consulting roll, tables and rules): 4
    No Leadership present
    No Personality present
    Encounter Distance: 7″
    Seize the Initiative: Failure
    Theme: Edge of the woods

    It’s been a couple of days of wandering the countryside looking for trouble, when the Wardens camp at the edge of the woods of Eerfeld, known as Fangwood Forest.
    They assign watch duties and rest, only to wake at the sound of a twig snapping. Someone has gotten close!
    “Wardens! To arms!” Evie shouts and unsheathes her sword, arming her bow.
    They all draw their weapons and look around as a quartet of dark cloaked figures closes in from two sides.
    “Cultists!” Ardus tells Evie as they turn to face their assailants.

    Combat Turn 1:

    Ardus and Rudiger move in closer.

    Cultist charges at Rudiger
    Cultist hits, can’t penetrate armor
    Cultist hits, penetrates armor, wounding Rudiger
    Rudiger wins the last exchange
    They disengaged melee

    Cultist charges Ardus
    Ardus wins the exchange
    They roll equal, and the cultist retreats

    Cultists further advance near the lake
    Roving wanderer moves aside and shoots his bow
    RW Hits, doesn’t wound

    Stout Yeoman charges cultist
    After three exchanges, none scores a hit and they withdraw
    The rest of the band progresses

    A cultist charges at Rudiger, catching him still sleepy, he passes through his defenses, hitting his cuirass. He follows up, but this time his blade lodges between the rings of the mail part of the armor, wounding the veteran. The pain sears through Rudiger’s body, who quickly snaps out of it and blocks the last attempt, pushing the cultist back.
    At the same time, another cultist charges next to him at Ardus.
    Ardus is better prepared. He parries the blow successfully and kicks his assailant back.

    At the other side, next to the pond, a Warden shoots at a cultist and fails to hit him, the arrow flying away through the air, while another one charges in melee. He tries to hit him but is blocked, and again, and again, until tired they disengage and look at each other angrily.

    Combat Turn 2:

    Ardus charges at cultist
    Ardus hits, the cultist is wounded
    They roll equal and withdraw
    Rudiger charges at the cultist
    They roll equal and the cultist withdraws
    Rudiger survives his wound
    The cultist charges back at Ardus
    Ardus wins melee
    Ardus hits cultist and kills him

    Cultist charges back at Rudiger
    Cultist hits Rudiger, but Rudiger parries with his shield
    Cultist hits Rudiger but can’t penetrate the armor
    And again
    They withdraw from melee

    Cultist charges Angry Villager
    They’re equal and the AV withdraws
    Cultist charges at Stout Yeoman
    Cultist brings down Yeoman

    Evie takes position and shoots Cultist but misses
    Gustav charges at Cultist
    He hits and wounds Cultist
    He hits again and kills the Cultist

    Roving Wanderer takes position and shoots at Cultist and misses

    Angry Villager attacks Cultist
    He hits but doesn’t wound him
    And Again
    And they roll equal and withdraw

    Hanger On attacks Cultist
    They roll equal and withdraw

    Ardus charges with his bastard sword and thrusts at the Cultist who hurt Rudiger, wounding him, spilling blood. With skill, his enemy tactically withdraws.
    Rudiger tries to follow up on his companion’s pushing attack, and charges at the Cultist. His enemy with skill blocks and parries and moves back.
    “Die!” The Cultist hisses and jabs at Ardus, who deflects the blow and moves behind his enemy, at the same time slashing at his back, cutting him in half.
    Seeing his friend fallen, the other cultist screams a war cry and charges at Rudiger. The blow is heavy, and Rudiger has to block it with his shield. He smashes back at his enemy, shoving him away.
    On the other front, near the pond, the Cultists charge at the followers. One tries to attack the Angry Villager but can’t get back the defenses while the other attacks the Stout Yeoman. The dagger finds the Yeoman under his armor. The Yeoman drops down under his wound.
    Evie moves around the fighting men and finds an opening for her shot. The arrow misses its target and lodges on a tree behind.
    Gustav then charges at the same enemy. Distracted the Cultist doesn’t see the warhammer coming down on his head and falls down, dead.
    The Roving Wanderer shoots at the cultists but misses again.
    The Angry Villager charges at the Cultist who hit the Stout Yeoman and hits him with his staff, but doesn’t manage to startle him. The Cultist pushes back and disengages.
    A Hanger On who joined the warband tries to make a difference, but without skill, his efforts are aimless.

    Combat Turn 3:

    Rudiger and Ardus advance to the lake
    Rudiger survives his wound
    Cultist attacks Angry Villager
    No one hits
    And Again
    They roll equal and withdraw
    Cultist attacks Hanger On
    They roll equal and withdraw
    Evie shoots Cultist, hits and wounds him
    Roving Wanderer shoots at the same cultist and hits and kills him

    Angry Villager attacks Cultist
    He hits and kills him

    Combat is won

    Rudiger despite his wound, moves with Ardus towards the pond to assist the rest of the warband.
    One of the Cultists attacks the Angry Villager and another the Hanger On, but after a couple missed strikes, fatigue builds up, and the opponents stand there looking at each other.
    Evie and the Roving Wanderer shoot their arrows to the Cultists. Both hit, and the Cultist drops dead from the hail.
    The morale is high and the Angry Villager, with renewed strength, bring his staff down on the last opponent, knocking him out.
    The Wardens cry out in Victory!

    Aftermath:
    Resolve casualties: Stout Yeoman: Knocked out
    Loot: 9 Gold Marks
    Unusual Finds: Evidence (Reduce Highest Threat by 1, Dark Secrets)
    Adjust Threat: No adjustment
    Experience Points Awards
    Ardus gains a level and gets +1 Agility
    Roving Wanderer gains Skill: Foraging
    Angry Villager gains Promotion: +1 Agility: Name: Wigmar

    The Wardens look after the Stout Yeoman, noticing it was just a flesh wound. He recovers quickly.
    Searching through the fallen enemies, they find 9 Gold Marks and a bloody bag. Evie recognizes it as the bag she had seen the last week in their roadside encounter.
    Inside it they find nasty bloody parts. Hearts of animals and humans. Along with it is a seal, one that Evie recognizes as Eerfeld alchemist’s seal. Seems the man is in league with dark forces. That’s evidence for the Bailiff.
    The man with the staff, the Warden she had in mind as angry villager, showed immense bravery, armed with just a staff. She goes to him.
    “Wigmar, you stood out today. We’re proud to have fought alongside you.” Evie tells him.

    NameEvieGustavRudigerArdus
    Agility1122
    Speed5455
    Combat Skill0000
    Toughness4433
    Will1–––
    Luck2–––
    SkillsLibrary,Medicine,Organization––Leadership,Parry
    XP3364
    LVL0101
    WeaponsLong Bow, DaggerWarhammerBastard SwordBastard Sword
    ArmorLight ArmorLight ArmorFull Armor, Helmet, ShieldPartial Armor
    NotesAvatar–Retainer–

    Followers

    Name  
    NatureRoving WandererStout Yeoman
    SkillForaging 
    WeaponsSelf Bow, DaggerWar Axe(Warhammer)
    ArmorMilitia ArmorLight Armor
    Notes––

    Gold Marks 22
    Medicinal Herbs 1
    Story Points 1
    Pistol
    Sword

    End of second campaign turn

    Session Summary

    This time I paused to take photos and write everything down as it happened. I really enjoyed every part of it!
    I did not write down the rolls, only the results, because the game is very dense!
    So much happens in such a short amount of time.
    I really enjoy how easy it is to do everything. The mechanics are fast and the tables generate interesting results. I’m still learning how to play, so I’m not implementing any rpg elements yet.
    I don’t know if I will have everything so detailed in my future AP reports, because pausing so often to take photos and write things down, doubled or tripled the time to play. I will need to find the right balance between reporting and playing.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 10:52 pm on May 26, 2020 Permalink | Reply
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    The Social Conflict Exchange 

    Most roleplaying games do not have in-depth mechanics for social interactions. In some, thought has been placed, and there are a few skills covering several types of interactions and even progress rolls, while in others it could be left out to a single personality attribute.
    This isn’t so much a problem in social tabletop RPGs where, there is a conversation between two different persons. One, the Game Master, emulating the NPC, and the other, the Player, emulating their PC.
    In solo roleplaying this missing link, is even more pronounced, since the GM and Player, both come down to the same person.
    While playing some crunchier combat systems I noticed, that sometimes, the increased effort to run them, payed off, as there was ample narrative feedback.
    So this is an attempt, to create a social interactions mechanics framework, to drive the conversation, and maybe return interesting results in the process, while reducing mental effort and player bias.
    I was very much inspired by several topics discussed in Solo RPGs: Let’s Talk About Dialogues YouTube video by RPG Tips.

    Conflict, in the scope of this framework includes major social interactions, not petty squabbles or small talk. It’s what makes or break you. Consider the equivalent of combat, but with no swords drawn.
    You try to convince someone, questioning their beliefs, lie to them about a fundamental truth or scare one into betraying their own.

    There are three dispositions with two ends of the spectrum each.
    (Defiance/Fear)
    (Hate/Love)
    (Suspicion/Trust)

    The Levels for each disposition go from 1 to 6 for Defiance to Fear, Hate to Love and Suspicion to Trust. You can write them down, but I recommend using three different colored six-side dice to represent each value as it changes through the exchange.
    I’d suggest Black for Fear, Red for Love and White for Trust, but go with whatever dice colors you have.

    Examples:

    • A town guard captain searching for fugitives in the player’s description could have the following dispositions: Trust 1, Love 3, Fear 3.
    • A fellow street urchin who saw their escape could have the following disposition: Trust 5, Love 4, Fear 2.
    • A civilian who doesn’t want to be bothered in case they find trouble, and is scared of meeting outlaws could have the following disposition: Trust 2, Fear 4, Love 3.

    Level 3,4 borders on indifference.
    Level 2,5 has strong feelings.
    Level 1,6 is a major driver. It’s what dictates the NPC’s actions towards the protagonist.

    You can choose the level of each disposition, roll randomly (1d6), or even hide it and reveal it afterwards to decrease metagaming. In that last option, you can also try to ‘read’ the disposition through the use of a skill such as perception (see further below).

    Some game systems have specialized social skills, while others could be so broad as to even have just a generic social attribute. In any case, depending on the success or failure of the attempted skill, and by how much (critical/marginal), the dispositions are modified by one level, as defined in the table below.

    ActionConCharmPersuasionIntimidation
    CS+L+L+T+F
    MS+L,-T+L,-T+T,-L+F,-L
    MF-T-L-T-F
    CF-L,-T-L,-F-T,-F-F,-L

    So a marginally successful charm attempt would both increase the Love disposition but also decrease Trust. Whereas a failed charm attempt would decrease the Love disposition.

    The exchange ends, whenever a disposition reaches (or remains at) level 1 dictating failure or level 6, dictating success. If the result is contradicting, having both 1 and 6 at the same time, then its a draw, and another attempt must be made, until the number of successes doesn’t equal the number of failures.

    Examples:

    • The protagonist tries to Con the town guard captain that they saw the fugitives heading in another direction and fails. This means that Trust remains at 1, and the captain doesn’t fall for their ruse. He draws his sword and sounds the alarm.
    • The protagonist tries to Persuade the street urchin that if they help them escape, they will reward them, and they are successful, raising the Trust to 6. The street urchin decides to risk their skin and take them through the back alleys and lay low in his shack.
    • As they stumble upon the civilian, the protagonist draws his finger across his neck, while making a gesture to stay silent, Intimidating them successfully. Fear increases to 5 while Love decreases to 2. The civilian still considers his options. These guys look scary, but maybe his hatred for outlaws will outweigh his fear and he will sound the alarm.

    The dispositions changes are not necessarily long term.
    If for example the protagonist tried to Intimidate a close friend into abandoning their cause, and this reduced their Love, it could last only for a few days. Feeling hurt, heal over time, just like wounds in battle.
    Likewise, a conned guard who let the protagonist into the compound, won’t still have increased Love disposition once they find out the truth.

    Note:
    While performing the skills, do not forget to add any modifiers, according to the game system.
    A bribery attempt would have a bonus or penalty according to the bribe. A persuasion attempt to a close friend would have a bonus. An intimidation attempt when you are outgunned would have a penalty.

    Reducing metagaming:
    If the player knows beforehand the dispositions of the target NPC, then they can choose which skill to use or avoid the social exchange altogether, thus giving them an unfair advantage.
    To reduce this advantage do the following:

    • Before starting any exchange, do a Perception or relative roll, to see if the protagonist can ‘read’ the target’s intentions. Apply any modifiers.
    • If successful, then either decide the disposition, roll randomly, or ask the Oracle. In any case, you know. Optionally, depending on the level of success, you may know only one or two of the three dispositions.
    • If unsuccessful, or partially successful, then if you decide to go ahead with the social exchange, then, run the first round of the exchange, and roll/ask the Oracle for the dispositions afterwards. This way, there is an extra risk involved. It’s implied that after exchanging a few words, you have understood what their disposition is.

    Now I need to playtest these rules, and post the results. I’m thinking a high diplomacy, low combat one-shot.

     
    • Manfred's avatar

      Manfred 10:14 am on October 5, 2020 Permalink | Reply

      Hi,
      Interesting approach. Have you playtested it and posted the results somewhere?
      Thanks!

      Liked by 1 person

      • giorgis's avatar

        giorgis 5:20 pm on October 5, 2020 Permalink | Reply

        Hi,
        Unfortunately I haven’t playtested it. It’s something that’s been sitting in the back of my head but never gotten around to doing it. My current MERP sessions are combat-heavy so I don’t know if I’ll be able to squeeze it in.

        Like

        • Manfred's avatar

          Manfred 10:33 pm on October 6, 2020 Permalink

          OK, no worries. Let us know when you get round to it.

          Liked by 1 person

    • Kris's avatar

      Kris 4:08 am on May 14, 2025 Permalink | Reply

      I tried this out today and thought it was useful! Thanks. Ran a conversation with a post-apocalypse priest who had a positive starting reaction to my PC (Trust 4, Love 5, Fear 2), but the PC had no social skills. I made a starting roll and flubbed it, then switched from “charm” to “persuasion” and thought of good arguments the PC could make. “You want to establish a base in the ruins? Instead of going west like you want, why not go east — I just found a religious building out that way.” Gave myself a bonus for thinking of several specific lines of reasoning, and on the third roll hit Trust 5->6, Love 4->3. So the priest agreed to change plans while kind of resenting it and leading to a future conflict. Gave me enough detail to flavor the conversation beyond “I win”.

      Liked by 1 person

      • giorgis's avatar

        giorgis 8:27 am on May 15, 2025 Permalink | Reply

        I’m always so happy when something here is useful to another solo role player. Thanks for the feedback!
        Another system that I found very useful is “Let’s Talk” that I discovered later. I’ve used in extensively in my Savage Warhammer sessions, and loved it. If you can’t find I’ll be able to link it later. Cheers

        Like

  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 9:12 pm on May 12, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: ,   

    The Wardens of Gahyrst. Ep01. 

    It’s been some time now that I got the solo wargame Five Leagues From The Borderlands. I wanted to try it a while now, I think this is the right time.
    I have a nice bunch of fantasy 15mm minis to start with. I also want a change of pace with regards to my regular solo roleplaying. Something different that requires less brain effort.

    Since I’m a sucker for story continuity I will use Evie’s company as my band of heroes, with extra followers.

    Heroes

    Name Evie Gustav Rudiger Ardus
    Agility 1 1 1 2
    Speed 5 4 5 5
    Combat Skill 0 0 0 0
    Toughness 4 4 3 3
    Will 1 – – –
    Luck 2 – – –
    Skills Library – – Leadership,Parry
    Weapons Long Bow, Dagger Sword Bastard Sword Bastard Sword
    Armor Light Armor Light Armor Full Armor, Helmet, Shield Partial Armor
    Notes Avatar – Retainer –

    Followers

    Name
    Nature Outcast Drifter Roving Wanderer Stout Yeoman Angry Villager
    Skill
    Weapons Sword Self Bow, Dagger War Axe Staff
    Armor – Militia Armor Light Armor –
    Notes Witch Slayer – – –

    Gold Marks 12
    Medicinal Herbs 2
    Story Points 1

    Evie and her company returned to her hometown of Eerfeld. There, she found that her father, Baron Vogel, had been summoned to the capital months ago, never to be heard from again.
    The manor was derelict. The villagers scared. Bandits and brigands roam the countryside. Orc and goblin marauders cross the river ever so often and an uneasy chill clouded the people’s hearts and minds as dark forces stir in the shadows.
    No one is willing to pay allegiance to the Vogel name.
    In an effort to restore peace and prosperity to the region and her family name to its former glory, Evie has reinstated the Wardens of Gahyrst.
    Her close compatriots stand with her, Gustav and Rudiger, joined by Ardus, her father’s steward still guarding the ruined manor.
    Four more brave souls have joined her, answering the call to drive off evil from the land.

    Current village: Eerfeld (3,2,3)
    Village 2: (1,1,1)
    Village 3: (3,3,3)

    Turn 1

    Swindled: Lose 4 Gold
    Study: Success: Evie: Medicine
    Labor: 2 Gold
    Adventuring: Roadside & Combat Encounter
    Roadside: Hunter: Unfriendly: Corruption: +1 Dark Secrets
    Combat: Outlaws: Renegades: Encounter while traveling
    Number: 8+Sergeant (+1 Toughness), 2 Bowmen
    Terrain: Distance 13″, Overgrown Ruins
    Initiative: 6: –

    A peddler runs his cart on the village of Eerfeld. “Talismans! Protect yourselves from evil”
    “Look! Look what I bought” the so called witch slayer, essentially an outcast drifter says to Vogel. “This magical garlic scented bird cage can keep vampires at bay!”
    Evie looks with disdain. “How… much did you pay for it?”
    “4 gold marks my lady” He answers.
    Evie takes it to return to the peddler, but he’s nowhere to be seen.
    “You’ll work the fields to make up for the money you cost us.” She tells the outcast. “I’ll be at the old church library, see if we can find something useful.”
    Her efforts proved fruitful as she found passages explaining how to perform healing.

    On their way, they meet with what seems to be hunter. He has strapped a bow over his cloak, and a big skinning blade hangs without a scabbard, from his belt.
    As they cross paths, an uneasy feeling overwhelms Evie. She can’t tell if it’s the stinking dirty visage of the man or the way he met her gaze, but something struck her as off. It’s not only after he has vanished from her line of sight that she recomposes his image. He was carrying a bag dripping with blood and the blade had dark dried blood all over it. She would have asked him to stop and show his bag, but now he’s gone. How could she have missed it? What clouded her mind?

    Combat
    Due to the miniatures at hand I switched the Renegades with goblins. It was pretty arbitrary, but I can live with it for now.

    The wardens heard sinister laughter from ruins near the road. Carefully they go to investigate, only to fall upon a band of goblins.
    Soon swords are unseathed, bowstrings drawn and combat ensues.
    Evie cast an arrow, hitting its target, but it pierced through cloth, missing flesh.
    Two spearmen charged, one at Evie and one at Rudiger. Evie used her sword skill to push him aside, while Rudiger, with sheer strength manages to break of the greenskin’s guard and hit him with his blade.
    An arrow hits Rudiger, but doesn’t pierce his heavy armor. Another one hits Evie in the chest.
    As the two opposing groups come together, closing in on the ruins, Ardus dispatched a goblin, while Evie, clutching her chest, falls to the ground…

    A handful of minutes later, the fight is over. Rudiger, covered in blood stands by Ardus. He wipes of his blade and seathes it. The angry villager who had joined them is the only other man standing. Rudiger thinks he should ask his name, but now he must tend to his fallen comrades, and first of all, Evie.

    aftermath

    I roll on the aftermath tables.

    Evie: Serious Wound. I use medical herbs: Dead. I use Lucky Break.
    Gustav: Knocked out.
    Outcast Drifter: Dead.
    Roving Wanderer: Knocked out.
    Stout Yeoman: Knocked out.

    Found: victims: receive 3 Gold Marks
    Items: Warhammer, Pistol
    Threat reduced by 1

    Rudiger tends to Evie’s arrow wound with some green moss, but the Angry Villager intervenes.
    “Stop it! You’ll kill her. That doesn’t go on cuts! Only on bruises.” It is only by sheer luck that the leader of the wardens survived.
    Most of the group is back in fighting shape. Their wounds superficial. Except the outcast drifter, the witch slayer. He didn’t make it, and the warband made a proper grave to put him in.
    Ardus scoured through the ruins only to find the corpses belonging to the victims of the goblins. He took some private possessions found to return them to the families. Among the loot was a Warhammer and a pistol. A very useful weapon.
    As they return to the village, and give the victims possessions to their families, some villagers offer a few gold marks to the adventurers as gratitude for giving them closure.

    End of first Campaign Turn

    Session Summary

    Had so much fun!
    The game flow was fast and easy. I mean yes, I had to go back and forth between some rules and tables, but after repeating a few times, I got the hang of it and could run the combat without much trouble.
    I actually intended to write down the actual play in detail, but I got so carried away that I didn’t want to stop my game to take notes, believing I could reconstruct the battle.
    I was so wrong. The flow may be fast, but so dense. There’s so much happening I can’t believe it can be resolved so quickly.
    On purpose I avoided optional rules. I want to learn the gropes before delving deeper. Also there’s so much food for narrative. All those random events. One could even run minirpg games there (e.g my roadside encounter), converting to their system of choice. Might do it in the future.
    The game is deadly but can be forgiving. Had to spend my one-off Lucky Break to avoid losing my avatar. Was lucky with the rest of the warband (3/4 just knocked out).
    My only gripes so far is the fact that I have it in a crappy office print. Its worth a proper printing. And also that I don’t have all my minis painted to run all possible scenarios!
    Now that I’ve settled on it, I need to roll some story about who or what Gahyrst is and maybe draw a map and name the villages.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 12:53 am on May 7, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Solipsism,   

    A monster’s bounty – A weird cyberpunk fantasy adventure – S1E05 

    Brief summary: Lt. Athen Smarte is a Hunter. Solitary warriors who hunt down and dispatch warp monsters. In the last session she was assigned a mission to recover data from an abandoned Hunter base before the corporate antagonists got to them. She’s on site, supported by a hired hacker.

    I just discovered solipsism which may be the key to unlock my adventure in this vaguely defined setting. I’m going to give it a go, and run this mission with this.
    For the Oracle, I will use solipsism’s oracle. If I feel confident, I may include False Presuppositions at double digits (11,22,33…) and Interventions from MUNE counting at +2 results.

    I’m going to use the Chart 4, for a faster mission.
    Defining the 4 Features
    A – Ocano Point Base Gate (start here)
    B – Barracks
    C – Armory
    D – Offices

    Defining the 6 elements
    a – Mission Data
    b – Mao Hsai Goons
    c – Goblins
    d – Alarm
    e – Weapon
    f – Corpses

    I start randomly at 0403

    0403
    Go To: A (5750)
    knowledge 0

    5750
    A
    Elements
    7727 requires blue key
    Outgoing Paths
    B (6897) 0

    I decide that there is some chance to gather some information about the site and find out if it has been used (knowledge adjective). Athen will roll her survival.

    Athen: Survival (d6): Success+
    Q: Are there any sings of goblin use? (Extremely Likely): 94: Exceptional Yes

    Athen and Quinn are at the gatehouse gathering information. The base has been abandoned for so long, but there are some signs of use. Athen looks under the pile of dirt in the corner, and she discovers steel arrows and arrowheads. Barbed and crooked.
    “Goblins” she mutters, and braces her sidearm, signaling Quinn to keep his head low.
    The nearest building they can get to without risking being caught in the open is the barracks, so they make a path to it.

    6897
    Go To: B (9647)
    dark +1

    The adjective is dark and the modifier is +1. I suppose that the darkness gives them plenty of cover. They have a +2 to their stealth rolls.

    9647
    B
    Elements
    b identity +2
    e occult -1
    Outgoing Paths
    9895 +1

    The elements are Mao Hsai Goons with an Identity adjective at a modifier of +2 for Athen, and the Weapon with an occult adjective at a modifier of -1 for Athen.
    I’ll check the Outgoing path after I have played out the scene.
    So the weapon is something occult related, and the -1 modifier, makes me think it’s possibly cursed. In my mind this fits to be a goblin curved sword.

    I’m not quite sure about the goons, so I’ll ask the oracle
    Q: Are the goons alive?
    A: Yes

    As Athen and Quinn enter the barracks under the cover of darkness, they see flashes of light, coming from the far end. Someone is here. Athen peeks and sees some armed men, wearing corporate armor, looking around in the barracks. They are discussing about a curved wicked serrated blade that one of them is holding out.

    I could have Athen try to overhear them, but I think she won’t risk it. After all, her mission’s the data. They will try to sneak past them.

    Athen: Stealth (d6+2): Success+
    Quinn: Stealth (d4+2): Success

    9895
    Go To: D (4992)
    neglect -1

    Any Oracle questions in this part have a +1 modifier.

    Athen and Quinn sneak past the mercenaries, and reach what seem to be the old Okano Base offices. They seem neglected and in total disarray. Computers destroyed. Monitors trashed and keyboards missing all the keys.

    4992
    D
    Outgoing Paths
    9946 +2

    Quinn looks at all the trashed gear and shakes his head as he sees even the results of a fire. “I doubt there’s something usable here. Even if I could link up, the corruption here would be immense.”
    Athen nods. “Let’s keep looking. I don’t want to mess up because we failed to find a hidden terminal.

    9946
    Go To: C (4141)
    transformation 0

    The main adjective here is transformation. Interesting.

    4141
    C
    Elements
    f history 0
    ? alien -2
    Outgoing Paths
    5016 -2
    6971 0
    9056 0 requires a green key

    We’re at the armory. Element f is Corpses and the adjective is history, so this is pretty straightforward. Maybe when the base was abandoned, they didn’t have the time to abandon everything and some hunters stayed behind to gather weapons from the armory and they were caught by the enemy and killed.
    Now the ? is a random element with the alien adjective. I’m not thinking space aliens here, but something completely out of place.

    So there are four categories of elements, I’ll try first to narrow it down.
    I get description: rain, strange noises, an ocean breeze, radio signals.
    Portent: School

    The duo enter what seems to have been the armory. She flashes her torch around. No weapons here are useable anymore. They all are bent, broken or rusty.
    What stops them with mouths agape, is what they see in the center of the room. A pile of corpses, rotting, one on top of the other. On the walls at the far end, surrounding the pile, scripts written in blood cover a tapestry of made of skin. As if someone was trying to take notes in an unknown language.
    Athen had heard stories of orcs and goblin shamans who cast warp magic to have used an unknown alphabet.
    But what makes her want to puke her guts, is what they see further. Some corpses have been dissected in a brutal manner, while others seem to have more than two arms or legs, and they seem fused as if they were connected while their owners where still alive.
    Without thinking further, she grabs Quinn and gets out of, to the nearest door.

    I choose to follow 5016, even if it’s at -2.

    5016
    Dead End
    weak

    Instructions state that: Dead End
    Although there is a guaranteed Path to every location, some Paths lead nowhere. This is a
    \Dead End.” If you hit a Dead End, you go nowhere. You are free to interpret a Dead End
    any way you wish. You may wish to impose a consequence on your characters for hitting
    a Dead End. For example, upon hitting a Dead End, your characters must return to the
    beginning: \A”.

    I choose that some dark warp magic has affected them. They need to make Vigor rolls at -4 (due to the -2 modifier) to resist it.

    Both she and Quinn can barely walk out of the armory. Something in this place has really made their mind clouded. She feels so dizzy she stumbles outside.

    Athen: Vigor (d8): Success++
    Quinn: Vigor (d6): Success

    So I give them the chance to return to A.

    Weakened and dizzy, the duo returns to the gatehouse. They look at each other.
    “Did…did you feel that too?” Quinn asks.
    Athen nods. “It wasn’t just what we saw Quinn. The Orcs had some sinister magic at work here.”

    Q: Is Quinn willing to go back in?
    A: No

    So Athen will have to persuade him.
    Athen: Persuasion (d4): Failure

    “Come, let’s go.” She gets her head back together and extends an arm to Quinn. He doesn’t take it and shakes his head. “I don’t care about the guild payment. I’m not going back in there. This was supposed to be a data snatch, not some occult ritual. I’m out of here Smarte. You’re on your own.”
    Seeing Quinn walk away, the Lt. knows she can’t grab the data on her own. She can only hope the orcs didn’t leave anything intact. She holsters her sidearm and walks away.

    Session Summary

    It was a short session, but a breath of fresh air! Solipsism is a quite different way to run an adventure, but I was amazed at the flow. Yes it’s quite linear, but there are many options and variations that allow modability to suit different ways of play.
    I really liked how I didn’t have to think too much to connect everything together, as the Master Table did all the work for me.
    It’s a bit stronger on the narrative side, since it errs more on the side of CYOA gamebooks than freeform RPGs, but if one wishes they can start asking questions to the oracle to reduce it to a crunch.
    Also I was worried there was going to be metagaming involved, but the adventure ended without me finding half the elements, so they possibly could never have been there (the data or alarm for example).

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 12:55 am on April 25, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Ironsworn   

    The Tale of Bas – An Ironsworn Saga – Ep01 

    So I’m delving into the Ironlands.
    Ironsworn is one of the most popular solo RPGs, and I have put it off for too long.
    I have not played Apocalypse World or similar RPGs in the past, so this is going to be a new experience for me.
    To try it out, I will begin with a familiar world style and character.

    Worldbook options:

    The Old World

    The sickness moved like a horrible wave across the Old World, killing all in its path. Thousands fled aboard ships.
    However, the plague could not be outrun. On many ships, the disease was contained through ruthless measures—tossing
    overboard any who exhibited the slightest symptom. Other ships were forever lost. In the end, those who survived found
    the Ironlands and made it their new home. Some say we will forever be cursed by those we left behind.

    Iron

    The weather is bleak. Rain and wind sweep in from the ocean. The winters are long and bitter. One of the first settlers
    complained, “Only those made of iron dare live in this foul place”—and thus our land was named.

    Legacies

    Before the Ironlanders, before even the firstborn, another people lived here. Their ancient ruins are found throughout the
    Ironlands.

    Communities

    We have forged the Ironlands into a home. Villages within the Havens are connected by well-trod roads. Trade caravans
    travel between settlements in the Havens and those in outlying regions. Even so, much of this land is untamed.

    Leaders

    Leadership is as varied as the people. Some communities are governed by the head of a powerful family. Or, they have a
    council of elders who make decisions and settle disputes. In others, the priests hold sway. For some, it is duels in the circle
    that decide.

    Defense

    The wardens are our soldiers, guards, and militia. They serve their communities by standing sentry, patrolling
    surrounding lands, and organizing defenses in times of crisis. Most have strong ties to their community. Others, called
    free wardens, are wandering mercenaries who hire on to serve a community or protect caravans.

    Mysticism

    Some still find comfort in the old ways. They call on mystics to divine the fortune of their newborn, or ask them to
    perform rituals to invoke a bountiful harvest. Others act out of fear against those who they suspect of having power.
    However, most folk believe true magic—if it ever existed—is lost to us now.

    Religion

    The people honor old gods and new. In this harsh land, a prayer is a simple but powerful comfort.

    Firstborn

    The firstborn have passed into legend. Some say the remnants of the old tribes still dwell in deep forests or high
    mountains. Most believe they were never anything more than myth.

    Beasts

    The beasts of old are nothing but legend. A few who travel into the deep forests and high mountains return with wild tales
    of monstrous creatures, but they are obviously delusional. No such things exist.

    Horrors

    We are wary of dark forests and deep waterways, for monsters lurk in those places. In the depths of the long-night, when
    all is wreathed in darkness, only fools venture beyond their homes.

    Bas is an orphan. His village was in the hinterlands but raiders came, and slaughtered everyone. He was found a few days later by a family of hunters and taken into their home at Bleakwood and raised along their own children.
    As a child he was always wild, getting into fights and spending a lot of time outside. Now, at his maturity ritual he joins his stepfather in a deer hunt.

    Name Bas
    Edge 2
    Heart 2
    Iron 3
    Shadow 1
    Wits 1
    Assets Wildblood, Wayfinder, Brawler
    Equipment Leather armor, cloak, shield, spear, knife

    Bonds

    Toran, his stepfather
    Emelyn, the girl he likes
    Bleakwood

    Background Vow

    (Extreme): Find his home’s raiders and exact revenge

    Inciting Incident

    Quest Starter: You were witness to an attack by what you thought was an animal of monstrous proportions. No one believes
    you. In fact, you are accused of the murder you blame on this beast. How can you prove your innocence? Can you even trust
    your own memories of the event?

    I’m running silently through the woods. We have found the deer tracks and are trying to circle around its possible location in an effort to trap it.
    Suddenly I hear screams. I abandon the trail and head off to the source of the sound.
    What I see I cannot fathom. I see a huge boar of unbelievable proportions goring through Kayu, a fellow hunter.
    As it charges through, its gigantic tusk pierces through Kayu’s chest. It then moves on unhindered and runs away.
    I speed to Kayu trying to close his wound, but the blood loss is immense. Soon, both of us are covered in blood and Kayu lets go of his last breath.
    The rest of the hunters soon reach us and start murmuring as they see me drenched in Kayu’s blood.
    “A giant boar killed him. It was tall as a tree and it went through Kayu before I could help!” I try to explain.
    My stepfather is silent. He has defended me so many times, but now he seems at a loss of words. His gaze is down.
    I understand the danger I’m facing. But I won’t be held accountable for a crime I didn’t commit.
    I grab the iron haft of my spear, fall on my knees, and swear my vow.
    “I will find the boar, and bring you its head. I’ll avenge Kayu. I swear it.”

    I will be providing the dice results in the following format: (Action Die, Challenge Die, Challenge Die)

    Swear a Vow: (6+2+1=9,6,4): Strong Hit
    On a strong hit, you are emboldened and it is clear what you must do next (Ask the Oracle if unsure). Take +2 momentum.

    Vow: Kill boar beast (dangerous)
    Momentum: +4

    The hunters are silent, and nod as I take my vow.
    I first need to track down the boar. Once I have tracked it down, I need to set a proper trap and kill it. I don’t want to end up like Kayu.

    Gather Information: (5+1+1=7,9,6): Weak Hit
    On a weak hit, the information complicates your quest or introduces a new danger. Envision what you discover (Ask the Oracle if unsure), and take +1 momentum

    Momentum: +5
    Ask the Oracle: Breach Truth

    As I try to follow the tracks through the forest, I can’t find anything that would relate to what I saw.
    In a desperate attempt, I decide to follow Kayu’s tracks instead. Maybe he fell upon the creature’s den.
    I follow the tracks into a ravine and come upon a sorry sight.
    A sow and and her little piglets are slaughtered in a gruesome manner. I see Kayu’s knife in the dirt next to the dead boars.
    That’s what the beast saw and went after the hunter.
    Why would Kayu do such a thing? We have to respect the land and its creatures not destroy it. We have to hunt only as much as we need.
    I’m disheartened, knowing that my Vow might have been taken hastily. There’s no honor here. Just the defense of my name, nevertheless a Vow taken must be kept.

    Endure Stress: (1+2=3,5,6): Miss
    Spirit: +3
    Momentum: +4

    Reach Milestone move: 2 progress tracks.

    The beast was furious about the death of its own kind. I can use it to my advantage. I will set traps near this den that I found and use the boar remains to lure it in.

    Secure an Advantage: (1+1=2,3,6): Miss
    On a miss, you fail or your assumptions betray you. Pay the Price.

    Pay the Price: 57: It causes a delay or puts you at a disadvantage

    I’ve spent the entire day setting up traps and lures for the boar beast, but it’s nowhere to be seen. It either has picked up my scent or just didn’t come here again, since it killed Kayu and feels no threat.

    Make Camp(3+5=8,7,2: Strong Hit
    Relax: +1 Spirit
    Spirit: +4

    The next day, I pick up my spear and once again try to find any large hoove tracks belonging to the boar beast.

    Gather Information:(6+2+2,2,2): Strong Hit
    Momentum: +6

    I’ve found the beast’s tracks, I ready my spear and see if I can locate it.

    Face Danger:(6+1=7,4,4): Strong Hit
    Momentum: +7

    Treading like a wildcat, on the top of the forested hill’s ridge, I can see the boar down below. I have the advantage, I prepare my spear and brace it against the ground. It’s now or never.

    Reach a Milestone: 4 progress marks

    Enter the Fray:(2+2=4,10,9): Miss
    The Boar has Initiative.
    Pay the Price: 87: It wastes resources
    Supply: +3

    I’m about to call out to the beast to come and get me, but it already has picked up my scent, it runs amok around, and finding my backpack, it tramples through my stuff. Next it charges towards me, but it’s on a different direction. I had not expected this and I am caught unaware.

    Clash: (6+3=9,7,3): Strong Hit
    Inflict 3 Harm (6 ticks)

    As the boar charges at me, my spear is set, and I manage to brace it against another rock. The gigantic creature’s steps thud through the forest, but my spirit doesn’t waiver. My spear finds its target, and the boar moans out wildly.

    Strike: (6+3=9,8,2): Strong Hit
    Inflict 3 Harm (3 progress)

    As it pulls away, my spear catches in its ribcage and more blood spews out.

    Strike: (4+3=7,6,7): Weak Hit
    Inflict 2 Harm (4 progress)

    I manage to make another thrust, but I overextend and allow for the beast to find an opening.

    Clash: (3+3=6,8,7): Miss
    Endure Harm: (1+3=4,10,1): Weak Hit
    Health: +1

    The beast gores at me with both its tusks. I spit blood as they rip apart through my leather armor.

    Clash: (1+3=4,6,4): Miss: Burn Momentum: Strong Hit
    Inflict 3 Harm (22 ticks)
    Momentum: +2

    I won’t let this beast bring me down. I call upon my vow, gather my strength, and jab at it, holding my spear with both my hands.

    Strike: (6+3=9,7,4): Strong Hit
    Inflict 3 Harm (7 progress)

    End the Fight: (7,6,9): Weak Hit
    Endure Stress: (1+2,10,3): Miss
    Spirit: 0
    Shaken
    Momentum: +1
    Momentum Reset: +1

    The boar roars and charges one more. I scream out and charge at it back. My spear finds its target true, killing the beast. As it dies, it looks at my with a serenity and I realize I have killed a creature that meant no evil. It killed Kayu because he committed an atrocious act, and I only justified it.
    Sickened, I push down the carcass away from me.
    Time has passed away and I must make camp.

    Reach Milestone: 6 progress

    Make Camp: (6+3=9,8,7): Strong Hit
    Recuperate: Health: +2

    In the morning I take proof of the boar carcass and set off to return to Bleakwood

    Reach Milestone: 8 progress

    Fulfil your Vow: (8,10,8): Miss

    I head back to Bleakwood. Wounded, Shaken, Bloody.
    As I reach the village I expected people to come greet me.
    Instead, they are shutting their doors and windows.
    I reach the village center. The elders are waiting there for me. I see Kayu’s family standing beside them.
    My stepfather is on the other side.
    “Bas!” the elder speaks. “We have decided upon the matter of Kayu’s murder. We saw the wounds. The seer has spoken. No beast committed this act.”
    “But, I have the proof here!” I shout.
    “Silence!” The elder shouts back.
    I shut up.
    “Your father, has begged us, and Kayu’s family, and you shall be spared. You are to be banished from Bleakwood and never return.” He continues.
    My eyes search around for support. I see Emelyn, our eyes meet, and immediately she gazes down.
    “Leave!” He says again.
    Without a home once more, I leave Bleakwood.

    Session Background

    What a twist in the end!
    This was my first try in Ironsworn and I absolutely loved it.
    I’m afraid Bas will have a hard time surviving in the Ironlands but it makes for an exciting story.
    Overall it’s a very easy system to use and play.
    Unfortunately I have everything in digital format, and having them printed would have eased my play even more.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 8:02 am on April 23, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: ,   

    A monster’s bounty – A weird cyberpunk fantasy adventure – S1E04 

    Brief summary: Lt. Athen Smarte is a Hunter. Solitary warriors who hunt down and dispatch warp monsters. In the last session she hunted and killed three goblins who had made a lair under the Morikai Bread Factory, attacking the workers.

    As her second advancement, I choose to increase Athen’s Vigor attribute to d8. I think she will need it.

    After a well deserved rest, the next day, Athen returns to Vertden FOB. She decides to avoid the mess hall for now and heads directly to supplies and provisions to meet the quartermaster.

    Q: Does she meet Taro?
    A: Yes
    Q: Does he continue bullying her?
    A: Yes, and, he’s not going to let go easily.

    She hasn’t managed to finish 4 steps into the courtyard when she hears an unwelcome voice. “I thought I told you to leave.”
    “Piss off Taro. That was yesterday. I’m back to collect.” Athen sternly replies and keeps on a steady pace.
    Tarp quickly stands up from the bench and cuts off her path. “Leave” he says slowly, pausing on every syllable.
    “Make me.” Athen replies, her hands itching for a fight. Adrenaline still high from yesterday.

    Q: Are there bystanders?
    A: False presupposition.
    Note: I had difficulty finding a proper answer to this and the story detailed to an incorrect path. Therefore I returned back here with a decision that when a false presupposition can’t be answered I will instead trigger an intervention without answering the asked question.

    Intervention: Entity Positive
    Q: Is it Athen?
    A: No
    Q: Is it Taro?
    A: Yes, and he just received a mission

    “Cut this crap Taro. Who cares about her? We have an assignment. It’s a Red Mark mission!” Another Hunter, a friend of Taro’s comes and intervenes.
    “This ain’t over Smarte!” Taro says and laughs wildly as he hugs his friend in joy.
    “Asshat” Athen mutters between her teeth as she can’t digest the news. Taro was given a Red Mark mission. These are corporate sanctioned high end targets for high tech rewards.

    The quartermaster eyes Athen heavily.

    UNE: Cautious, Bearing: Comfort: Focus: Previous Scene.

    “Don’t let that asshole Taro get to you girl. Remember where you came from. You weren’t a bounty hunter or a security lap dog. You were a ranger. Carry that with pride.” The old grognard tells her. Athen breaks a little smile. “Thank you.”
    “You showed those greenskins that they can’t mess with us. Too bad they took so long to call for our help. Here.” He says and puts a pouch credit coins on the table. “Your reward.”
    Athen takes her reward and nods to the old soldier before heading to Col. Faulknen’s office.

    Athen’s wealth die has increased to a d8.

    Right now I’m having some difficulty connecting the dots of the single sessions into a grander adventure scheme. It feels to me as if Athen is running along without any specific purpose.
    I had a discussion over at discord and through some tips that were shared (Thank you @John Lopez – check out his patreon if you haven’t) I realized I needed to spend some time to bullet point a few things about my setting.
    Since the setting is something unique, I must pay attention to it. For starters I will create a quick bullet point journal of characters, factions and locations, including everything introduced so far. Then I will try to map them out (thinking about a hex map) with events overlay. Then I will see if I need to introduce a few more factions or just generate an adventure and build as I go.

    For starters I gathered up in a document all the information I had for characters, factions and locations so far.

    Next I named the city. It’s Morieva.
    And I generated a map in watabou for it.

    Morieva

    Next I detailed the open threads.
    Threads:

    • Goblins in the city
    • Third eye drug exchange
    • Merlin the smuggler
    • Taro’s Red Mark mission

    And now I will generate an adventure using Cyberpunk Adventure Generator

    Quest giver: Anti-corporation Rock Band.
    Quest type: Intelligence of Megacorp HQ.
    Target: Item, A cyberkey that will unlock any lock mechanical or digital
    In the possession of: Quest giver
    Professions: Megacorp hired propagandist reporter
    Location: Streets, Megacorp HQ
    Antagonists: Classic Hitman with a suit and concealed weaponry
    Rewards: Blastor – cyberspace weaponry
    Random event: Propaganda flyers rain down from the sky

    I don’t like the implied setting and it doesn’t fit my protagonist at all. I could push it to fit but instead I will try the next adventure generator in my list.

    Quest Contact
    A Mercenary Group: A nearby mercenary group has posted several jobs. They are willing to pay anyone who completes them.

    Adventure
    Prevent Something: Something is going to happen unless you interfere and you’re the only chance of preventing it.

    Location
    A Fortress: Whether still occupied or not, several military fortresses litter the land from wars past. Unoccupied fortresses rarely stay that way for long when bandits or monsters looking for a lair chance upon them.

    Antagonists
    Royalty: They’re the rich of the rich, make the laws, and are never questioned. But not every royal has the best intentions of their subjects at heart.

    Twists and Complications
    Dodgy Ally: For the adventure to be a success the players will need outside help. This person may have their own agenda, want all the treasure, or could be a spy for the enemy.
    Time Limit: There’s a deadline and the adventure need to finish by a certain time or something happens.

    The Dramatic Conflict
    Family/Friend: Someone the players know will be harmed by completing this job. Is the cause worthy enough for their sacrifice?

    Much better. I can start asking oracle questions to define the adventure as it evolves.

    Q: Is the mercenary group, the Hunter’s guild?
    A: Yes, and the job posting will be offered to Athen directly.
    Q: Is the royalty, the TeraTek corporation?
    A: No
    Q: Is it another corporation?
    A: Yes
    Q: Is the fortress, Vertden FOB?
    A: No
    Q: Why is only Athen capable of completing the adventure?
    A: The answer involves procrastinating over desires, combined with a struggle over nature.
    Q: Is the friend involved in dramatic conflict Col Faulkner?
    A: Yes, but Athen doesn’t know it yet, so that meta plot is subject to change.

    So I have a rough layout. The old Ocano Point base is about to be captured by Mao-Hsai Unlimited corporation. Thing is this base used to serve troops that fought in the Warp Wars and housed the previous Hunter local guild HQ. It was abandoned in a rush and contains research data that must be recovered. The Hunter Athen is the only available Hunter for the mission. A possibility is that there is information on the data that incriminates the Colonel about something that happened during the war.
    I don’t like all the meta knowledge that is being fed to me at once, and also the fact that it doesn’t connect at all with my current threads. On the other hand it’s a quite interesting new thread and I’m willing to see where it will take me.
    Also I dislike the fact that there is no personal goal for the protagonist. I somehow feel as if I’m in a CRPG without any significant scenario.

    Q: Will the Colonel assign the mission to Smarte?
    A: No
    So, I need to create a new character, even if it’s just for this.

    Donjon: Lenard Jaenke: Male Soldier. Lenard is muscular, with cropped silver hair and brown eyes.
    He wears military fatigues and carries a semi-automatic pistol.

    “Smarte! report to Cpt Jaenke. He’s asked for you.” A fellow hunter called her.

    The captain’s office is filled with the smoke from his cigar. He has put it off, but only just before. Athen can barely see the captain through the smoke. The captain is a muscular man with cropped silver hair and brown eyes.
    “Smarte.” He says in a voice, cracked under the weight of countless cigars of the past.
    “Sir.” The lieutenant replies.
    “We’ve got a situation. A delicate one. We have sources that indicate that our old base in Ocano Point has been scouted by Mao-Hsai Unlimited. We had to retreat from Ocano in a hurry and when we hit back, there was no strategic importance for the location anymore.” The captain explains.
    Athen nods.
    “We’ll let them have it. We don’t care about that dump. But…” the captain sighs. “What’s inside must be recovered. We have battle reports, monster autopsies, experimental weapon blueprints. Lots of shit. And we must get there fast. Konicek and Girbach were supposed to get it. But, they were outside of Morieva, and a landslide has cut them off. You’re the only one available, so we rely on you alone for this one. Questions?”
    ‘Crap, a two person job given to just her’. Athen thought.
    “Yes sir. How do I recover the data?” Athen asks.

    Here I will give the dodgy ally twist.
    Q: Will there be a guild payment for it?
    A: Yes

    “You’re going to need a hacker, guild fee. Konicek is our guild hacker, but…” the captain lets it trail off.
    “He’s blocked by the landslide, yes. What about Ocano Point. Is is clear?” Athen asks another question.

    Q: Do the hunters have recent intel?
    A: No

    “We haven’t set foot there in a long time. Can’t tell what to expect. Find a hacker, keep them safe. Find the data, bring them back. That will be all.” Cpt Jaenke wraps it up.
    “Yes sir, on it.” Athen replies and leaves.

    This is a chance to use a Secret Clock. I have no clue whether Mao-Hsai Unlimited will get to the site before Athen, so I will start a clock that will trigger at Red (not combined, either three Diamonds or three Hearts will trigger it) and a dependent clock that has to do with Mao-Hsai data recovery at Black (again, not combined, either three Clubs or three Spades will trigger it).
    Time unit until Athen gets to Ocano Point will be one hour, and after she arrives, it will be one turn.

    I expect that it will take Athen 1 hour to get home and then she can start trying her streetwise knowledge to see if she can find a hacker. I’ll give one hour per attempt.

    13:00: Return from Vertden FOB
    14:00: Streetwise (d4-2): Success.
    Donjon: Quinn Rocheford: Male Computer Hacker. Quinn has messy blonde hair and large green eyes. He wears a grey suit and glasses with silver rims.

    It doesn’t take long for Athen to dust off her contacts list and find Quinn. He had worked with associates of her in the past, but apart from that reference she has no clue about him. He agreed to meet her at Gustav’s.

    Q: Does it take long for Quinn to arrive?
    A: No. I decide it’s going to be another hour, he was readily available.
    Intervention: Regress plot
    So I got lost in a series of questions that lead nowhere.
    I’m starting over again with more specific questions.
    Q: Is Quinn under attack by someone during the meet?
    A: No
    Q: Does Quinn lack a specific piece of equipment required to perform his task?
    A: Yes
    Q: Does he know where to get it?
    A: Yes, but (it’s illegal/costs/will take time to get): will take time to get.
    Q: Will it take too long?
    A: No, and it’s going to be only 1d6: 4 more hours.

    ‘Just my luck’ Athen cursed when Quinn explained to her that he had his deck under repairs when it was damaged in a firefight. At least it would be within the day, and a few hours later, at 19:00, they were ready to leave for Ocano Point.
    She didn’t like the fact that Quinn didn’t tell her about his shortcoming before she had arranged to meet him. He’s either untrustworthy or didn’t want to miss the job. Or both.

    Q: Is there a regular route to Ocano Point? (unlikely, I imagine this as an abandoned place, far from habitated regions).
    A: No, and, there’s no road to there either. They will have to take a cab up to a point and then walk.
    I would expect one hour for the cab ride, and then 1d6: 4 hours walking.
    So, it’s dead midnight when they arrive at Ocano Point.

    Athen will search to see if she can find any corporate presence on approaching the site.
    Athen: Notice (d6): Success+. Let’s unveil the first Secret Clock: No Mao-Hsai presence.

    I need to get some information about Quinn from UNE.
    I get “Dependable Politician”. I’ll take it that he’s a man of his word, and prefers diplomacy to other means.

    “It seems clear. I see no lights, or movement.” Athen says to Quinn.
    “I promised my skillset, but are you sure it seems a good idea to go inside an abandoned fort from the war? There could still be monsters lurking inside. Especially if, as you say, our own troops had to abandon it to the enemy.” Quinn tries to persuade Athen.
    “We’ll take our precautions.” Athen says and arms her pistol.

    Now, since I got a raise on the Notice check, I’ll ask.
    Q: Did Athen notice anything else?
    A: No

    Since I haven’t decided yet how to run this part of the adventure (dungeon romp? hex flower? five room dungeon?) I’ll pause here to recollect myself and do some digging.

    Session Summary

    I’m starting to get a little lost in all the worldbuilding associated with this adventure. I think I’m trying to get two birds with one stone.
    I love the concept and the protagonist, but I should have my world set up before I set off to adventure in it. Then I might have had a better objective for my protagonist, something to drive her to achieve.
    Where is the struggle? What opposing forces does Athen have to contend with to find calmness?
    Insofar I didn’t have these issues with my other adventures because I either had generic lore that could apply easily without much effort, or I knew the setting very well.
    I may run the mission in one of my next sessions but I’m well aware that I need to have some serious world building involved before I continue further.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 9:05 pm on April 12, 2020 Permalink | Reply
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    Into the deep caverns – Ep03 – Dark Sun Scarlet Heroes 

    [Likely] (2d10 => (6,7) => 7) l does the magma paraelemental beast return to its plane?
    Yes.

    Having no bonds to hold it down to the material plane, the magma beast jumps back into the lava pit and vanishes.
    Chansa bandages his wounds and takes a good look at the remains of the dwarf cultists. He understands why there are no shamans of the magma element among his people. There is nothing to be gained from such a savage element.

    Turn 5:
    Room 5: SW
    Garden
    Encounter: encounter found: 10 Hit Dice worth of minions and elites.
    Treasure: no treasure
    Hazards: no hazards
    Features: no feature

    Chansa moves deeper in the cavern system, and he comes upon a beautiful room. Rocks of various sizes and colors have been arranged to display a marvelous contrast between red, orange, yellow and black.
    Several dwarves are here, tending to the rocks and their formations. Some are sitting in front of them, their eyes close, in some sort of meditation.

    [Unlikely] (2d10 => (2,4) => 2) u can Chansa get to the otherside of the room undetected?
    No.
    The GM says no, but I still want to try.

    [Either Way] (1d10 => 8) is the difficulty extreme?
    Yes.

    Chansa: Stealth: 15/15: Success!

    Chansa counts 8 dwarves in total. He bides his time carefuly, as they see to have not noticed him. He sees a dwarf in red cloak, going from accolyte to accolyte, assisting them with meditation techniques.
    He moves silently, jumping swiftly from shadow to shadow, until he reaches the other end of the cave, in a feat of extreme skill. Were it not for his halfling size and dexterous abilities, he surely would have been made, and have to fight another group of bloodthirsty enemies.

    Forgot to make a wandering monster check in the previous room. There’s no point making one now, since Chansa is as stealthy as a cat.

    Turn 6:
    Room 6: NW
    Minor Shrine
    Encounter: encounter found: 5 Hit Dice worth of minions.
    Treasure: no treasure
    Hazards: no hazards
    Features: feature: A prisoner or victim of the dungeon inhabitants: creature motivation: Retrieve a stolen treasure- possibly taken by PC: A traitor from the nearest village

    [Extremely Unlikely] (1d10 => 6) xu is the treature something stolen by Chansa?
    No.

    “Let me go!” a strong armed dwarf with tatoos, is bound by half-giant hair rope. A handful of cultists are gathered around him.
    “We will let you go when Suthra says so.” A cultist replies.
    “We should sacrifice him to the pit” Says another one.
    “Suthra may want to spare him. After all, he’s the one who brought him the fire staff. Without it we wouldn’t be able to summon the beast” The first one says.
    “Yes but he tried to steal it back, otherwise why did you come back eh?” Another one asks the bound dwarf.
    “You tricked me. I thought you were fire clerics.” The bound dwarf replies with rage.
    “And so easily you betrayed your teacher. How proud he must be of you. Traitor.” The captor says and laughs out loud. “You can pay your respects here, to the shrine we have set for magma. Look at how it consumes everything and forms it anew…” He says and points to a geological shape made out of solid magma.

    ‘Curious’, Chansa thinks. Maybe this fire cleric knows the way to the city of Tyr. Chansa doesn’t think it over much. He draws his javelin, and with a war cry he charges at the dwarf cultists.

    Combat Round 1:
    Chansa attacks a minion = (10)+12 = 22: damage = (2)+2 = 4: 1 point of damage: 1 minion is dead
    Fray die damage = (5) = 5: 1 point of damage: 1 minion is dead
    minion attacks = (1)+4 = 5, (5)+4 = 9, (17)+4 = 21: minion damage = (1) = 1: 0 points of damage!

    Combat Round 2:
    Chansa attacks a minion = (18)+12 = 30: damage = (6)+2 = 8: 2 points of damage: 2 minions are dead
    Fray die damage = (7) = 7: 1 point of damage: 1 minion is dead

    Chansa quickly dispatches two cultists, while a third one tries to hit him from behind. The halfling quickly turns around and blocks the hit with his shield, dodging the blows of the other two. In a feat of prowess, he then proceeds to kill the three remaining dwarves.

    So I have no idea how the dwarf will react to Chansa, but instead of asking the GME, I will roll on the Scarlet Heroes relevant table
    Their attitude towards the hero is… = (2+3) = 5: Predacious, willing to take advantage of those weaker
    But Chansa doesn’t seem to be weaker. Nevertheless I get a pretty clear picture.

    There is a moment of uneasiness, as the fire cleric eyes Chansa carefully pondering if he is going to be attacked next. He slew those dwarves as if they were nothing, and he has heard several stories of the savagery of the cannibal halflings of the Forest Ridge. Still, the halfling hasn’t made a move against him.
    “Do you know the way to Tyr?” Chansa finally asks in a terrible pronunciation in the Trade Tongue.

    [Very Likely] (3d10 => (7,5,4) => 7) vl Does he know the way to Tyr?
    Yes.

    [Either Way] (1d10 => 2) is it from an exit on the last dungeon room?
    No.

    Dwarf name = (2) = 2

    Grunting, the dwarf nods. “I’m Boris.”

    Boris is a very significant name for the Athasian history, but heck, there can’t be only one Boris in the entirety of Athas. I’m sticking with it.

    Turn 7:
    Room 7: SW
    Library
    Encounter: encounter found: 4 Hit Dice worth of minions and possibly an elite.
    Treasure: no treasure
    Hazards: no hazards
    Features: feature found: An architectural feature of the original structure: Atrociously ugly or disturbing to look upon

    So… another encounter and a feature. Libraries aren’t available in Athas, so this need to be adapted accordingly.

    Chansa enters further deep in the cavern system. Boris has picked up a club from one of the dead cultists and is right behind him. The path opens up to a low ceiling, wide room. There are delicate paintings everywhere in all the walls. Intricate designs with yellow, red and black depict figures performing some sort of rituals. Magma beasts, volcanoes and lava rain catch Chansa’s eyes. But what disturbs him, is the depiction of forests being set ablaze in an inferno by lava rain. He can stomach a lot, but the preservation of the forest is his utmost duty.
    Lost as he is in his examination, he realizes he is not alone. Four dwarf cultists that were studying the pictures, are standing against him, weapons drawn.

    Combat Round 1:
    Chansa attacks a minion = (11)+12 = 23: damage = (2)+2 = 4:1 point of damage
    fray die = (6) = 6: 2 points of damage
    3 minions are dead
    minion attacks = (17)+4 = 21: damage = (1) = 1: 0 points of damage
    Boris attacks = (19)+8 = 27: damage = (4) = 4: 1 point of damage: 1 minion dead

    Chansa pulls out his javelins, and throws them out all one by one, with enormous speed, paying no heed to accuracy. All three strike true, killing an equal number of dwarves. The last one remaining, tries to jab at Chansa, who blocks the strike with his shield. Finding an opening, Boris, strikes the cultist from behind, splitting his skull open with his club.

    Chansa pulls out his javelins, and throws them out all one by one, with enormous speed, paying no heed to accuracy. All three strike true, killing an equal number of dwarves. The last one remaining, tries to jab at Chansa, who blocks the strike with his shield. Finding an opening, Boris, strikes the cultist from behind, splitting his skull open with his club.
    “I have enough, rations. No need to waste any time on them.” Chansa says to Boris, who is a little uneasy at how lightly, the halfling considered eating dwarfkind. “Curious images, but heresy! Destroying those forests!” Chansa exclaims. “Let’s get out of here.”
    “No! We must find the fire staff!” Boris stops him.
    “I think it was broken. While their leader was trying to control a beast made of magma” Chansa tells him.
    “NO! I am disgraced! How will I ever correct my mistake?” Boris cries out and drops to his knees.
    “Can’t you make a new one?” Chansa asks.

    [Either Way] (1d10 => 5) can he make a new one?
    No, but…

    “It’s not that easy. I would need to travel far and wide to get the components. It’s almost impossible.” Boris replies.
    “I have already a debt to you. I will, show you the path to Tyr.” He adds.

    So, the dungeon ends here. I have mixed feelings about it. Too many encounters and they were a little bit boring, baring the encounter with the magma beast, which was due to my interpretation and not the Scarlet Heroes mechanics. All the other encounters with minions and sometimes elites were too easy to be considered even a little bit dangerous.
    Even if I consider the simplification provided by Scarlet Heroes regarding combat, it can become cumbersome. In the fight with the magma beast, I did not even consider having the head cleric cast a spell.

    Back to the wilderness adventure now.
    From my hex map, I have calculated that Tyr is about 3 more hexes away, provided that Chansa doesn’t get lost again.
    Chansa will move as quickly as possible. He (and I) has had enough encounters on the way and is tired. He needs to find Tyr.

    Day 10

    Hex 6:
    Encounters Check = (3) = 3: No encounter
    Events Check = (8) = 8: No event
    Feature Check = (4) = 4: No Feature found

    Boris guides Chansa through a narrow path in the mountains which was hidden from plain sight.
    Soon, the mountains recede into desert hills. A terrain so much different than the forests, where Chansa spent his entire life. He doesn’t pause to search and look around this time.
    From the mountain sides he can see below, an endless desert spreads as far as the eye can see. He navigates himself, to where he believes Tyr to be and moves on quickly.

    Hex 7:
    Encounters Check = (1) = 1: Encounter found
    Mountains Encounter Table = (7+6) = 13: Encounter with Dwarf. Really?
    Events Check = (7) = 7: No Event
    Feature Check = (3) = 3: No Feature

    So let’s see what’s about this Dwarf.
    There are two ways I can go about it. I can either ask first questions if its a known/unknown dwarf, and then find out what they want.
    Alternatively I can roll on the Scarlet Heroes respective tables and conjecture if it’s relevant to my story so far.
    I’ve decided to run it using the Scarlet Heroes Encounters tables and twists
    1d20 Their Current Purpose, Given Their Location , Is To …. = (7) = 7: Search for help during some present crisis
    Their Attitude Towards The Hero Is… = (5+7) = 12: Disinclined to fight unless that seems necessary
    The Groups Size And Condition = (3+1) = 4: Roll encounter size twice and take the bigger total
    The Groups Size And Condition = (4+7) = 11
    The Groups Size And Condition = (7+3) = 10
    11: They’ve been hard-pressed lately; Morale lowered by 1

    [Either Way] (1d10 => 7) is the dwarf Boris?
    Yes.

    Chansa has left the mountains and started moving quickly in the desert. The grains of sand getting to his feet. The hot ground causing him some uneasiness but, his resilient nature and focus on the task at hand make him forget about it, and quickly it’s just a warm feeling.
    As he travels through the dunes, he notices that there is almost no life around. Nothing compared to what he’s accustomed to.
    He takes a look back, in a nostalgic feeling of his home, but something else catches his eye. A stout humanoid figure is following his trail. His sense of danger alerts him and he wonders if the creature is edible. He has enough rations to make it to Tyr without bothering about a dangerous encounter and would prefer to avoid it if possible.
    As the figure draws closer, he distinguishes the dwarf he rescued from the magma cavern temple. It’s Boris.
    “Why do you follow me? You’ll find that if you want to take a bite of me, I more than bite back!” Chansa growls at the possibility he’s the hunted instead of the hunter.
    “…what…? no I can’t go back. I’ve completely let down my people. I saw how you dispatched my enemies and I feel safer to travel with you to Tyr. If that’s alright with you…” Boris answers confused and worried
    “Fine. But I’ll have my eyes on you.” Chansa says, squinting his eyes.
    “Tyr is just a few miles further in this fertile valley, you’ll see… I want to see if I can find help, creating a new fire staff. Or die trying.” Boris says sternly.
    “You call this fertile?” Chansa asks, not realizing how more unforgiving the rest of the tablelands are.

    Hex 8:
    Tyr.

    The walled city of Tyr is visible in the distance, as Chansa and Boris get closer.

    Session Background

    Due to recent events, both personal and public this “session” lasted a lot longer than previous ones. I had trouble focusing and needed something less mind-taxing than solo play. I’ve done a lot of scenery and miniature painting, and will continue to do so in-between my solo sessions.
    My feelings about Scarlet Heroes are mixed so far. On one hand I really like the gaming style of the Wilderness and Dungeon modules. On the other hand, I find combat really bland. Could be my recent mood or the fact that it’s not that much suited to my style. I like to have some serious risk for my protagonist in my solo plays, and I couldn’t find it so far.
    I want to try out the Urban module for solo play as well, but I’m not quite sure that I will continue with it for my next session.
    I also want to play out the Mystery of the Ancients starter adventure, but I’m not quite sure I want to do it with Scarlet Heroes. I might take the time to convert it to a different system and run it with my MUNE homebrew mod for pre-written modules.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 11:18 am on April 4, 2020 Permalink | Reply
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    Medieval Fantasy Scenery Pt4 

    Just one house won’t cut it, so I started on another one. For variety I decided to make it a little larger and with a different roof shape and tiles. Also for this one I wanted the door to be hung on the inside.

    What I used

    • Thin carton
    • White glue
    • Acrylic putty
    • Acrylic paint
    • Thin kidcraft wood

    blueprints

    This time I made it 40mmX50mm and gave the roof a single direction. Again using thin cardboard.

    cut wood

    My initial design was to be with wooden beams just like the first house I made, and also several shutters. It’s much easier to plan ahead, even if in this particular case I switched designs.

    substructure

    I cut and glued it together and made an opening for a window and the door.
    I also added wooden beams on the inside with double sided sticky tape to give it strength against warping.

    Roof

    For the roof I changed my design. Initially I tried to make a curved tile roof using drinking straws, but that wasn’t feasible, at least in the way I tried. So, next inspired by the previous roof, I did a ^^^ shape tile roof. I took a piece of carton and carved straight lines every 2,5mm, alternating the carving in each side of the carton. Then I pushed it, to make an accordion shape. I cut it horizontally and made accordion stripes which I glued partially overlaying on top of each other on another piece of flat carton, and had my roof ready.

    painted roof

    Glued the roof on the substructure and painted it using acrylic paint (light blue+orange+brown) mixed with glue to give strength to the carton.
    I also painted the inside black so that looking in from the window won’t look bad.

    coated house

    Here I switched my planning. Instead of using wooden beams I decided to cut out little brick tiles from carton. I carved them to be ready to be shaped for the corners.
    I speckled the structure with putty mixed with some black for a gray color and glue to make it ready to accept items on top.
    I then alternated the bricks to give the shape in the picture. I also added a couple more around for the brick shapes showing at a couple places.
    Despite my additional beams on the inside there was some warping especially on the larger left wall. I should have added a T junction on the middle of the wall on the inside and maybe added a beam on the lowermost side. I removed part of the warp by pushing it back, but it’s evident. Maybe if I had based it, I wouldn’t have this problem.

    finished

    Then I wen ahead and glued the door from the inside. This was a bit tough as my planning wasn’t perfect and had to add several carton and wood pieces to make it stick. I hadn’t also painted those pieces black beforehand and it was tough afterwards. Went and finished the painting of the bricks (white) and the wall (gray) and door (brown). Dry brushed the roof (light blue+white), the bricks and walls (white) and the door (yellow ochre). Finally washed it with warm water with detergent with paint on the roof (black+blue), bricks and walls (black+red) and door (raw umber).

    Both houses

    Here’s my two houses next to each other.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 12:43 am on March 30, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags:   

    Medieval Fantasy Scenery Pt3 

    I already have several fortification pieces and a few trees, but what I need is something residential.
    My first attempt was with air-dry clay and was an utter failure. I placed the air-dry clay on a carton with glue, and it collapsed under the moisture and weight of the clay. A fellow modeler suggested I use speckle instead.
    Now, my main problem is the roof. The scale I aim for is 15mm, so there’s a high risk any tiles I design will be too large compared to my minis. The best option I found, was the one described in the video by TheTerrainTutor Miniature Tile, Slate & Wooden Shingle Roofing. I went ahead with the carton option, but I only cut the tile corners on one side not both, since I considered that too much for 15mm.

    What I used

    • Thin carton
    • White glue
    • Acrylic putty
    • Acrylic paint
    • Thin kidcraft wood

    Blueprints

    This time I went ahead and measured everything with a ruler. I even gave some room for the places of the house where I would need connections. It’s a 30mmX50mm with a 15mm tall roof, all cut out from a single piece. I glued it together with white glue, and used some tape on the inside to keep it together while the glue sets.

    First side
    Then I went ahead and cut out the roof tile series as described in the video, and attached them to the roof using white glue.

    Roof
    I finished the other side, and also added small Λ tiles to cover the top. At the time I wasn’t sure I should have done this, but I enjoyed the final result.

    Painted Roof
    I gave a couple coats of paint (1/3 vermillon + 2/3 raw umber) for the tiles. Here I was worried because I noticed that wherever the white glue had seeped through to the surface, the paint didn’t stick. I hope that with more coats, washes and drybrushing, this won’t be evident in the end.

    Painted house
    Next, I considered my options. I wanted some wooden beams, window shutters and a door. So I measured some kidcraft wooden sticks and cut them to the required sizes. I should have done it in the initial step of blueprinting, but no harm done yet. I painted the sticks with raw umber, and then let them dry overnight. Once dry, I went ahead and prepared a colored speckle (acrylic putty + yellow ochre + glue) and put it on the walls. While still wet, I put the wooden parts in place to set.
    Here I had some warping, which I countered immediately by adding some double-sided sticky tape on the inside part and adding a wooden stick. This gave it the necessary structural strength to remain straight. Unfortunately I had not done this on the shorter walls, so these are a tad bit warped.

    Finished house
    I did a second pass of colored speckle in some areas where I had some gaps.
    I saw in another video that washes should be added after drybrushing. So I went ahead and did that even though it didn’t sit right with me. I drybrushed the wooden parts, the walls and the roof, and then did a wash on each. I had to return a couple times and fix a few things but overall it went okay.
    While drybrushing the roof, I went in a fixed direction from top to bottom to give a highlight. I am quite happy with the end result. Never thought it would take me two days to build such a small house.

    Lessons learned

    1. Measuring properly helped me have a proper substructure for the house. Everything else fell in place afterwards.
    2. The colored speckle is an excellent choice to wall up carton.
    3. The wooden sticks add structural integrity. Next time I will put them in all internal sides of the building.
     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 11:28 pm on March 29, 2020 Permalink | Reply
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    Medieval Fantasy Scenery Pt2 

    Unfortunately I haven’t had much progress in solo endeavors the past days due to a combination of events and the overall grim situation.
    I focused on scenery instead (can’t work on my minis since I’m still waiting for some primers and varnishes).

    What I used

    • Repurposed foam
    • Thin wire
    • White glue
    • Acrylic putty
    • Acrylic paint
    • Soldering iron
    • Solder
    • Thin kidcraft wood

    Gatehouse

    So the project was a gatehouse. To that end. I repurposed packaging foam, not the best choice since it was flexible and wouldn’t let paint stick on it. More on that later.

    Substructure
    So I cut out a piece of foam to form the gate opening and cut out a few pieces of thin wire, and thrusted them in the foam to form a portcullis. I also used two different pieces of black foam from a different package to set up two towers on either side of the gate.

    Battlements
    Next, I shaped-cut a separate foam piece to form battlements above the gate and speckled and glued the two towers in place. I also speckled the entire gatehouse to ensure paint would stick.

    Portcullis
    The towers wouldn’t stick in place, so I cut out a few wire pieces and stuck them at an angle so as to hold the different foam pieces in place while the glue sets. I also cut out battlements at the towers.
    To finalize the portcullis, I went above and beyond and soldered the wires, making a sturdy structure.
    Furthermore, I noticed that the speckle would chip and fall the more I handled the piece.

    First coat
    I began a first coat of paint, and realized that the black foam would suck the paint, so I went ahead afterwards and speckled the towers as well. Now my troubles with painting begin. Wherever speckle hasn’t reached (some creases), paint won’t set. The transparent foam material is completely resistant.
    On a good note, the paint seemed to strengthen the putty and it wouldn’t chip, increasing the overall toughness of the piece.

    Second coat
    Nevertheless I persisted. So I passed two gray coats mixed with some glue and water in an attempt to get it to stick.
    I then speckled places where there were gaps evident, and after the putty was dry, I painted them over again. During that process, while handling the piece, some pieces of speckle would chip due to the soft foam underneath, revealing the transparent foam. Again, I speckled and painted with a medium gray.

    Drybrushed
    I went ahead and black washed the entire thing. For the black wash I used black paint, lots of water and a drop of detergent to aid with the flow. Had to do a few washes especially for the deep cracks, where there were foam holes. Finally, after this was dry, I drybrushed with a mixture of yellow ochre and gray.

    I wanted to add a wooden gate to the portcullis, and went ahead with an open gate, because I wanted the portcullis to be visible. I used kid crafts wooden pieces (like tiny sticks and tiny icecream sticks) which I cut out to shape, glued and painted them a raw umber color. I then went ahead and did something which I should have done in the first place. I mixed the acrylic putty with black paint to get gray putty. I also added a drop of white glue to the mix and used this gray putty to stick the gate directly to the gatehouse without bothering to re-paint over it afterwards.

    Final

    Lessons learned

    1. The foam was largely unsuitable. Re-purposing material must be done carefully. I ended up wasting a lot of putty and paint to do the piece, and I’m concerned about its integrity.
    2. Soldering the wires was a great way to have a sturdy piece. Much better than any glue. Will have it in mind for the future for any wire metalworks.
    3. Mixing acrylic putty with paint is an excellent way to have a speckle undercoat without the need to add a paint layer. It also has the added bonus of being the same color, and with glue it can be used to attach materials on top. If I had used this technique in the beginning I would have saved me a lot of white paint used to make the gray undercoat.
     

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