Finishing my only-games pile is the Knights with Spears. These have clear inspiration from Renaissance era full plate armour with Greek Hoplite parts (Hoplon shield, Helmet). Lovely sculpts, my only gripe is that they’re big! Much bigger than my already big Demonworld 18mm miniatures. So I think their only use on my table will be as Armour Golems of sorts.
Continuing on my Duncan Shadow sculpts printed by only-games.co, here are some not-chaos warriors, aka Plague Knights.
For the paint scheme I went with a reddish purple cloths, flesh with a yellowish tint, and metallic silver colour for the armour. Loved the concept, loved the sculpts, loved the end result. Only slight gripe is the print could have been a tad bit cleaner, as some print lines are visible.
I’ve gotten some resin 3d printed miniatures from only-games.co. Loved the sculpts and they had some fantasy ranges in 15mm that I wanted, so I decided to try them out. Duncan makes some great designs and it was really fun to paint these cultists with flails. They’re quite chonky so they’re on the high end of heroic 15mm (18mm), quite on par with my Battle Valor miniatures.
I went with a red cloak and ochre rope belts. Simple paint scheme but striking result.
Took me a while to paint this Savage Lizardmen warband using Sampler Packs (1 of each pose) from each type of Savage Lizardmen infantry from the Hordes of Things range of Alternative Armies.
I wasn’t sure about the paint scheme, but since I’ve already painted some blue Lizardmen from Blighthaven, I went with a classic green colour scheme and earth tones altogether. Sandy base with brown sand and brown grass.
These took a while to be painted because I batch painted the entire score of them to ensure that I use the same colours and they look uniform. There are warriors, blades, pole arms, spears, with shields and archers, four of each type.
Ps. Now that I look them all together I can see that there is a double pose of a spearman and I’m missing one pose from the sampler pack. I realised it too late though, maybe I’ll have to order a new pack in my next order.
Although Tharbad is no longer the direct destination of Leowyn, I’m still keeping the same name for this adventure for posterity’s sake.
Forgot to make the development rolls. Leowyn is granted 2 Intrigue, 2 Rhetoric, 1 Initiative and 1 Unarmed development roll based on her skill use last session.
Intrigue: (42): 89,10: Increase to 43
Rhetoric: (33): 24,11: No increase
Initiative: (68): 26: No increase
Unarmed: (65): 24: No increase
So the distance she will have to travel is about 50 miles.
Again, what I’ll be doing is once I have reached the destination by approximation, I’ll ask the Oracle about it.
It’s an unpaved road. Depending on the weather conditions she might be moving up to 23 miles per watch.
Weather (19) stays the same. It is cold, and cloudy with no snow.
Encounter: 4: No encounter
She traveled 20 miles. (Reducing because she didn’t leave right away at morning).
Weather (19) stays the same. It is cold, and cloudy with no snow.
Encounter: 3: No encounter
She traveled 23 miles and made camp.
Weather (20) is cold, and overcast with no snow.
Encounter: 14: No encounter
Weather (1) is freezing, and overcast and starts to snow.
Encounter: 19: Rural, Lawless /Night: 82: Reroll as Urban: 37: Lia-Kavair (Thieves): 45: Journeyman: 29: Burgling/Casing Job/etc.
When: At 20.17. I’ll decide that Leowyn isn’t yet asleep.
Leowyn: Awareness: 03: MS
Thief: Awareness: 89: MF
Leowyn has camped by the side of the road where, a low escarpment provides some protection from the cold winds. As the temperature drops to freezing point, she throws a couple blankets over her horse to keep it warm, and lies beside it, so that their combined temperature will help them through the night.
As she does so, she notices a torch carrying figure, trod through the road, slowly, crouched, a club at the other hand. ‘No peace-loving man walks, club at hand in the middle of the night’. She thinks. Considering how close she is to the battlesite where the Fennas Drunin guard overtook the bandits, she realizes this might be one of the bandits.
Perhaps one that fled the fight, or one that wasn’t there in the first place, returning to their camp. It could as well be the very man that killed her beloved. With these thoughts in mind, she slowly draws her blade, puts on her helmet, wears her shield, and sneaks towards the cloaked figure.
Leowyn: Stealth (39-25): 06: MS
Considering the thief’s lack of awareness, the overcast night sky and snowfall, and her stealth roll success (albeit not a critical success), I rule that she has reached the presumed thief undetected.
Paying no heed to her bruised thigh, nor to her heavy armor, moving fast, with the agility and grace of a cat, Leowyn reaches the figure, just a couple paces behind.
She puts her blade at the back of her foe’s neck, and shouts “That’s enough. Drop your club and turn to face me.”
Leowyn: Rhetoric (33-5): 06: MS
Success! The figure drops their club! Time to go to donjon for some information.
Donjon: Waerblu: Female Human Scofflaw, Evil. Waerblu has a round face, with thick silver hair and hazel eyes. She wears sturdy clothing and a yellow cloak. Waerblu has an animal companion, a sable ferret named Maly.
A woman turns around. Round face, thick silver hair, hazel eyes. She looks at Leowyn.
Q: Does she wear the locket? I’ll call it a 50/50.
A: No (at least there is no such thing visible).
“If you’re looking for your friends, they’re all dead. Feeding the crebain.” Leowyn continues, certain that the woman is part of the bandits. “Now show me your necklace, or by the ancestors, I’ll send you to join your friends.”
I need some info on how the woman will react to Leowyn. Will she plead innocence?
Q: Does she plead innocence?
A: No
So, she’s part of the bandits.
As if accepting her fate, the woman nods. “Did you kill them?” She asks.
“The town guard did.” Leowyn responds. She gestures up to her throat with her broadsword. “The necklace.” She adds.
Q: Does she wear a necklacke at all?
A: Yes, but, it’s not the one Leowyn gifted Argulf.
She slowly puts her hands around her neck, and brings out a necklace. Leowyn sees under the torchlight, that it isn’t the one she’s looking for.
“There were Rohirim amongst you. How many were there?”
Q: Does she say it was five?
A: No
Q: Is it more?
A: No: 1d4: 1. Intervention: 4: Advance Plot: He had a locket.
“It was just one, but he made some impression on the rest of our group. Some of the strongest men tried to immitate him. Dress like him, and fight like him.” She responds. “Will this take long? It’s getting freezing cold here.” She asks impatiently.
“Are you in a hurry to visit your friends in Fenas Drunin, or the afterworld?” Leowyn puts her back in her place. “Did he wear a silver locket with an intricate horse design?”
“He did wear a locket. What’s it to you and the lockets?” She asks.
“He’s a murderer who killed the man I loved.” Leowyn scoffs. “You’re coming with me, to the battle site.”
Leowyn will try to bind her hands.
Q: Does she try to escape?
A: Yes
I’ll roll Initiative for both of them.
Leowyn: Initiative: (68-5): 52: MS
Waerblu: Initiative: (55): 80: CF
So Leowyn realizes what Waerblue is going to do, and gets to make an opposed STR roll.
Leowyn: STR: 11+15-5: 21
Waerblu: STR: 8+10: 18
Leowyn wins.
As Leowyn starts tying up the thug, she instictively realizes the bandit will make an attempt to escape. The thug makes a quick move of her hands down to get away, but Leowyn grips her tightly. Her strength as a warrior is evident, and despite her opponent’s will to run free, she overcomes her.
“Next time it will be my blade on your hands.” Leowyn says grinding her teeth as she speeks. Revenge burns hot inside her.
The thug’s hands bound, both to a tree, and to Leowyn, they camp for the night.
‘I noticed I made a mistake with regards to the middle earth calendar, and it’s not New Years now. Hithui is the equivalent of November, therefore, with this in mind, I’m continuing the adventure.’
Weather (20) is now cold, and overcast and snow stops.
Encounter: 7: No encounter
Weather (1) is now freezing, and overcast and starts to snow.
Encounter: 12: No encounter
Weather (1) is now cold, and overcast and continues to snow.
Encounter: 12: No encounter
Q: Did Waerblue attempt to escape overnight? I deem this unlikely, since there was already a failed attempt.
A: Yes, but, Leowyn realized it and she stopped short. Random event: Delightfully Heavy, Procrastinate Path.
After a freezing cold night where the bandit lady tried once more to get up, only for Leowyn to wake up because of the well tightened ropes, and put her back to her place, they start pacing towards the battle site.
The prisoner tries her best to delay them, slowing down whenever she can, and pulling back the horse.
Q: Do they reach the battle site? (I’d have this at likely where it not for the delay)
A: Yes
I rolled some descriptors as to what they’d find, but then I recalled that the town guard told Leowyn that they left the bandits’ bodies there for all to find, so I’m going with this.
Leowyn rides, with the bandit lady bound, and tied with a rope to the saddle, walking by the right side, when they reach the site.
Several bodies are hanging from trees, upside down, lining the sides of the road. They’re hanging just above a standing man’s reach, so that the wolves can’t get to them, but the carrion birds have already started working.
I’d say it’s 5d6 of them. 17.
They count almost a dozen and a half bodies hanging. If it weren’t for deep winter, the stench would be unbearable.
The bandit lady has turned white with horror of what she sees, and scared of the fate that might befall her.
“Do you see him? the Rohirim?” Leowyn asks as she takes a careful look at the bodies.
Q: Does she point out to the Rohirim bandit?
A: No
Q: Does she try to bargain for her freedom?
A: No
Q: Does she try to escape yet again?
A: No. Intervention: Regress plot.
She shakes her head. “I.. I can’t tell. They’re mangled, maimed. Crebain have done short work of their faces. I can’t recognize him amongst them.”
Leoywyn scoffs. “What did he look like? Hair? Beard?”
Donjon: Hylpre: Male Human Fighter, Evil. Hylpre is stout, with grey hair and soft grey eyes. He wears chain mail and wields a bastard sword and shield. Hylpre has a mild allergy to rodents.
Q: Is there any gray haired bodies? (Likely)
A: Yes, and there’s one wearing chain mail.
“Gray hair. No beard. He’d wear mail.” the thug responds.
Leowyn looks around and starts examining each and every hanged bandit corpse, until she finds one that fits.
Q: Is there any necklace hanging down?
A: No
She looks at it closer, and cuts down the rope. The body falls down with a thud.
She dismounts, and approaches the corpse.
“Don’t try anything stupid.” She warns her prisoner before leaning down on the body to search it.
Q: Is there the locket?
A: Yes, but.
I pause here because the “Yes, but” interpretation can either solve the quest or not.
Since it’s so important, I’ll roll 1d3 for the interpretation.
A: Yes, but, it’s not the locket that Leowyn gave to Argulf
She finds a locket, not the one she gave to Argulf. Her heart sinks.
She shows it to the bandit. “Is this it? the locket you were talking about?”
Q: Is it the locket she had seen?
A: Yes
The bandit nods. “That’s the one. You’ve found your Rohirim. Are you happy? can I go now?”
Leowyn sighs. She feels exhausted. Her path to revenge has led her astray. She abandoned her only friends back at the Last Bridge Inn while looking for a needle in a haystack.
She walks to the bandit, and cuts her free. “You may as well. You’ll only slow me down.”
Q: Does the bandit give any advice before fleeing?
A: No, but, she’s grateful for the chance she’s given.
Leowyn considers how her people stand out amongst the rest of the Eriadorians. Since he’s not been seen here, then he’s either hiding amongst his own people in Rohan, or hiding from the law in Gondor.
She turns her horse around and heads back South once more.
I really tried to hook the threads together into my protagonist’s goals, but the hooks didn’t catch on, almost to the point of frustration. I really wanted to give Leowyn a sense of closure, because deep down I was imagining she could possibly join her adventuring companions once more, and they could explore the Trollshaws together.
Nevertheless, the Oracle-master has different plans in mind, and this is very much realistic, even from a social TTRPG perspective. The player went on a wild goose chase, and paid the price. Leowyn has abandoned both her friends, and her not-so-good employer.
I’m now quite frustrated to say the least, as a player. Having Leowyn travel almost the entire distance that The Fellowship travelled over three books! even as a Rider, and even with the North South Great Road available, is no easy task. Especially considering the hexcrawl nature of Harnmaster.
And I do not want to spend my solo gaming time, grinding through random encounters and weather generation.
Therefore I need to improvise. I’m considering the following solutions.
More specifically, I’m thinking of mixing them together. I’ll be flexible as the rolls progress.
BOLD: Waylay: Foreign deputies (Easy foes).
I’m also rolling the Solution (optional) mostly as inspiration. Overcome on accident.
So first of all, I need to determine the when.
I deem that the first Waylay is on the road to Tharbad.
It’s about 250 miles to Tharbad, so I’ll roll to see when it occurs: at 100 miles in her trip. That’s after Fenas Drunin, on the road by Mitheithel.
Foreign deputies, my interpretation is that it’s a patrol from a group whose lands do not belong to them. Right now Leowyn is in Cardolan which is pretty much headless, so that isn’t too far fetched. Therefore it can’t be from one of the factions aiming to get a grip on the region.
Since this is a Waylay, it must be an obstacle for Leowyn.
I rule that this is a group from ~Angmar~ Mordor.
Their number is going to be the lowest of 2d6: 2.
Considering the brutality of Harnmaster, two-to one can be deadly fast. I’m keeping the ‘overcome on accident’ as a possible (Oracle confirmation first) deus ex machina. Until then, it’s up to Leowyn and her skills.
Before I’ll go in with setting the battlefield, I need to complete some bookkeeping. Get on with Leowyn’s development rolls, and see if her bruised leg has healed.
Awareness (44): 50. Increase to 45.
Stealth (39): 85. Increase to 40.
Rhetoric (33): 43. Increase to 34.
Now for healing, there’s a heal roll every 5 days in Harnmaster. That’s kinda odd, but anyhow, I’ve decided to use this ruleset, so I’m continuing with this. Therefore, Leowyn is still injured, as she’s not entitled yet to a healing roll.
Q: Does the encounter happen during the day?
A: No
Weather (6) is now freezing, and cloudy and has rain showers.
I decided to do some calculations, and it seems that the moon is waning. It entered the last Quarter at 2nd Girithron and will have a New Moon at 10th Girithron. There’s not much moonlight to help Leówyn see around.
Leowyn: Awareness (45/2): 78: MF
Orcs: Awareness (44): 55: CF
They’ve both failed their awareness roll (Leowyn with half skill due to sleeping), but the orcs had a critical failure, hence Leowyn detects them first.
It’s been four days of riding that Leowyn suffered through the cold winter of Cardolan. She went past Fenas Drunin without stopping there, only paying for a boat to carry her across, and then she continued by the old road on the western bank of Mitheithel.
The constant rain and freezing cold has exhausted her, to the point that she doesn’t care about her bruised leg anymore and falls asleep. The thought of revenge still burns in her mind as her eyes close.
Loud shouting voices and heavy footsteps in the mud wake her up. There’s only one kind of creature that speaks that hoarse and stringy, such an ugly language. ‘Orcs’ she thinks, and quickly grabs her sword and shield, and wears her helmet hastily.
It’s only a couple of them, but they’re twenty yards away. It’s a matter of seconds before they see her.
Considering Leówyn’s Move attribute equals Agility and is subject to Physical Penalty, so her modified move stat is 12 which means she can move 60 feet in a combat turn.
Due to their Critical Failure in Awareness, I’m giving Leówyn a surprise turn.
Therefore I need to decide if she’s going to get on her steed or charge at the orcs.
I’m feeling adventurous, she’ll charge at the orcs.
I couldn’t find anything in the Hârnmaster rules with regards to close combat difficulty when fighting in dim lighting conditions, so I wing it at -10 using some input from Mythras.
The orcs won’t suffer from this since they have better eyesight during nighttime.
Am I attempting to chew more than I can?
Leówyn vs Orc1: Broadsword (76+15-35): 02: Hit!: A3: Location: 04: Skull: Impact: 11+5-7=9: S3: Serious Cut to the Skull.
Shock Roll: 11/10: The orc is down due to shock.
She looks at her horse and then at the orcs walking by the riverside, and makes a quick call to jump at them.
She charges at the nearest one, before they have a chance to react. With a quick slash of her broadsword she hits the orc’s side of the head. The helmet takes the brunt of the hit, but Leówyn is strong. The blade cuts deep, and with blood spilt, the orc drops at once, from the shock of the strike.
Leówyn attack declaration vs Orc2
Orc2 defense declaration: Dodge
Leówyn vs Orc2: Broadsword (76-20): 8: MS
Orc2: Dodge (55): 83: MF
That’s an A1 strike. Location: 09: Face. 29: Left Eye. Impact: 4+7=11: S3: Serious Cut to the Face.
Shock Roll: 9/10: Saved.
Orc2 attack declaration vs Leówyn
Leówyn defense declaration: Block
Orc2 vs Leówyn (55-15): 05: CS
Leówyn: Block (78+20-35): 72: MF
That’s an A2 strike. Location: 61: Abdomen. Impact: 10+5-9=6: S2: Serious Cut to the Abdomen.
Shock roll: 9/11: Saved.
Orc1: Shock: 4. It has recovered. Shock: 5: Is not in shock.
With no hesitation, she turns to her other foe, and brings her blade in a quick overhead motion, hitting the orc at the face. His left eye gashed, the orc screams in pain, and strikes back wildly.
His curved blade hacks at the bloodthirsty Rohirim shield maiden, right at her abdomen, cutting through both the surcoat and her mail armor.
She gasps in pain. At the same time the first orc slowly regains it’s awareness.
Orc2: Initiative test: (55-15): 43: MF: Cautious for this turn.
Leówyn attack declaration vs Orc2
Orc2 defense declaration: Dodge
Leówyn vs Orc2: Broadsword (76-20): 36: MS
Orc2: Dodge (55-15): 14: MS
That’s a stand-off
Orc2 pass (cautious).
Orc1: Rise
His eye scathed, the orc has stepped back and isn’t willing to fight this furious foe alone. Leówyn hacks at him once more, but the goblin dodges and avoids the hit, while his friend rises and prepares to join the fight once more.
Leówyn attack declaration vs Orc2
Orc2 defense declaration: Block
Leówyn vs Orc2: Broadsword (76-30): 66: MF
Orc2: Block (55-15): 52: MF
That’s a Block.
I deem that Leówyn’s shield is higher WQ by +1 while the Orc shield is lower WQ by -1.
Orc test: WQ: Shield: 12: Pass
Leówyn test: WQ: Broadsword: 15: Broken.
Orc2 attack declaration vs Leówyn
Leówyn defense declaration: Block
Orc2 vs Leówyn (55-15): 77: MF
Leówyn: Block (78+20-45): 7: MS
That’s a DTA.
Leówyn will draw her dagger.
Orc1 attack declaration vs Leówyn
Leówyn defense declaration: Block
Orc1 vs Leówyn (85-15): CF
Leówyn: Block (78+20-50): 15: CS
That’s another DTA. I need to make some choices. Leówyn is wounded and is fighting two orcs equally wounded. Odds are against her. Her sword is broken. She’s fighting the dark. She might try for a lucky break with a dagger attack or disengage and go ride her horse.
I’ll try for a dagger attack.
Leówyn attack declaration vs Orc1
Orc1 defense declaration: Counterstrike
Leówyn vs Orc1: Dagger (70-10-20-15+5): 8: MS
Orc1 vs Leówyn (55-15): 34: MS
That’s an A1 strike to both of them.
Let’s see Leówyn’s strike first: Location: 28: Right Upper Arm. Impact: 6+5-2=9: S2 Serious Stab. Fumble: 9+5=14/11: Drops the weapon: 7 in the same hex. Shock Roll: 19/11: Orc1 drops.
Orc1 strike: Location: 4: Skull. Impact: 2+5-10=-3: No impact.
The shield maiden slashes once more at the orc, but he blocks with the shield. The shield boss hits the blade, and the sword breaks in two.
With reinforcements, his morale is bolstered and he steps up to strike at Leówyn, who blocks his hit, putting both her hands behind her shield. The reactive force of the blocked strike is such that the orc pauses for a few seconds, just enough for the shield maiden to draw her dagger.
The other orc hesitates before joining the fray and Leówyn immediately reads his movement. She blocks with her shield, pushing him in a clockwise motion, and getting a clear opening to his right side. She stabs as he tries to hit her first with his curved sword. Leówyn has positioned herself to his blind spot and the orc hits her helmet with an outward strike, while her dagger digs deep into his upper arm.
The slashed-skull orc winces in pain, drops his sword and falls down from the repeat wounds.
Orc2 initiative (55-15): 56: MF. Cautious
Leówyn attack declaration vs Orc2
Orc2 defense declaration: Dodge
Leówyn vs Orc2: Dagger (70-40): 60: CF
Orc2 Dodge (55-15): 3: MS
That’s a DTA.
Orc2 will attack back as part of the DTA.
Orc2 attack declaration vs Leówyn
Leówyn defense declaration: Block
Orc2 vs Leówyn (55-15): 37: MS
Leówyn: Block (78+20-45): 45: CS
That’s a DTA but can’t be more than one per character turn so it’s lost.
Orc1 shock roll: 15/11: still down.
His friend down, the one-eyed orc pauses and doesn’t move forward to deliver hit, but as she jabs air in a failed attempt he finds an opportunity. His blade is deflected by the maiden’s shield and they stand back looking at each other with deadly intent.
Leówyn attack declaration vs Orc2
Orc2 defense declaration: Dodge
Leówyn vs Orc2: Dagger (70-40): 20: CS
Orc2 Dodge (55-15): 85: CF
That’s an A3 strike!
Location: 16: Right Shoulder. Impact: 11+5-5=11. S3: Serious Stab. Fumble roll: 9+6=15/11: Drops weapon.
Shock roll: 25: Orc2 is down.
Orc1 shock roll: 13/11. Orc1 is still down.
Leówyn hides her dagger behind her roundshield as she steps forward. The orc fails to notice her blade and she stabs him hard on his right shoulder. The orc opens his hand, dropping his weapon while moments later he drops from the serious wound.
Leówyn, seriously wounded, sword broken, grabbing her abdomen, is victorious.
Leówyn finishes off the orcs and searches them.
Orc1: Trade goods: 2 Furs. Silver: 12d. Weapons: 1. Round shield WQ+2.
Orc2: Weapons. Longknife WQ-2.
Q: Is the shield of sindarin make?
A: Yes
She leans over each of her fallen foes and gives them a coupe de grace with her dagger. They shall trouble the common folk of Cardolan no longer. Then she proceeds to search them.
Among their belongings she finds a farthing worth of silver, a couple of wolf pelts that will help in the winter cold, a longknife in bad shape, and a fine shield, both of elvish make. Their trophies probably, of an elvish warrior they killed.
She takes them. May they find revenge on her hands instead.
Development Rolls:
Dagger: 32. No increase.
Sword: 24. No increase.
Shield: 76. No increase.
Awareness: 47. Increase to 46.
Initiative: 90. Increase to 69.
Leówyn has 150 miles to go approximately to reach Tharbad, but she’s only 50 miles away from Fennas Drunin. She needs a healer. I need to decide if it’s best for her to head back or move on.
It’s about 4 days ride to Tharbad, so, she’ll risk it.
I’ll roll again for “where” a waylay will happen. If it’s at the first elapsed 100 miles, then, it’s not going to happen. Otherwise, I’ll roll for it normally.
Waylay occurrence: 120!
Waylay: perceiving mooks, overcome by scarce used ability.
Weather (6) is now freezing, and cloudy and has rain showers.
With the furs, the night was a little less colder this time, but the humidity of the river somehow still managed to chill her bones. Leowyn continued riding south at first light.
It’s still the middle of the day, when four desperate looking men come charging at her from the undergrowth.
“Get the Rohirim bitch boys! she’s bleeding!” shouts one of them, while the rest yell in undefined vowels.
Leowyn: Awareness (45-15): 32: MF
Mooks: Awareness (44): 66: MF
34 yards away. Leowyn saw them first. She has the opportunity to outride them, or turn back.
Q: Is there an opportunity to outride them?
A: No. She must fight them, or turn back.
They broke from their hiding spots too early, ruining their ambush. ‘Idiots’, Leowyn thought.
But as she looks down, she sees the red in her surcoat, and knows she must either fight them, or turn back.
She’ll try to perform a mounted charge to get past them.
Riding EML = ((84-15)+60)/2=65.
Ridng: 73: MF: Steed performs action. Rider has -10 to AML
Q: Does the mook attempt to dodge out of the way? (Likely)
A: No, and, he tries to counterstrike Leowyn
Steed Trample: (65+20): 69: MS
Mook1 counter: 78: MF
That’s an A3 strike. Location: 19: Left Shoulder. Impact: 4+8=12. S3: Serious Fracture. Shock Roll: 6/9. Not shocked. Fumble roll: 9+3=12/12: No Fumble.
The steed stops in the middle of the crowd. The mook is displaced to the side.
The mooks move close to her.
Leowyn is too proud to let go of her task. No pitiful thugs will stop her. Instead of turning around she decides to charge onto them. The sheer weight of her horse to trample them down.
The horse falls with might onto the foolhardy mook, who tries to counterattack with his club, but doesn’t even manage to lift his hand in time, as the steed hits his shoulder. The bones fracture, but the man stays in place, and the small steed stops.
Worried, Leowyn sees the enemies close in to her from all sides.
Riding: 50: CS: Steed performs action. Rider has +10 to AML
Q: Does the mook attempt to dodge out of the way? (Likely)
A: Yes
Steed Trample: (65): 100: CF
Mook1 Dodge: 65: CF
Both Stumble.
Steed Stumble (65+20): 83: MS
Mook1 Stumble: 9+3=12. Success.
Leowyn declare Longknife vs Mook1
Mook1 will Counter.
Leowyn: (78-35+10+10)=100: CF
Mook1: 12: MS
That’s a D2 strike. Location: Right Hip. Impact: 10+4-3=11. S3 Serious Fracture. Stumble Roll: 12+6=18: Failure.
Unhorsing Roll: (65-50): 13: MS. Leowyn stays in saddle.
Shock Roll: 18: Shocked. She’s down.
She orders her steed to kick and trample the thug in front of her, so that she makes space to ride out, but the horse and foe loose their footing, and spend a few precious seconds to stabilize themselves.
Leowyn tries to follow up with a slashing strike at the thug, but he gets the best of her and hits her with a club to her hip. The hit is strong, and bones fracture. Her mail doesn’t offer much protection against bludgeoning damage. She almost gets unhorsed, by the sheer force of the strike. Worse comes to worse though, and she loses consciousness, dropping to the ground with a thud.
Q: Do the mooks kills her?
A: No
They take all her possessions, and leave her wounded, cold and hungry.
Q: Does Leowyn survive the wilderness? (Unlikely)
A: No
Having left her for dead, Leown, recovers her consciousness later, but she’s in shock. Dazed, confused, wounded, cold and hungry, she tries to reach Fenas Drunin, but she walks aimlessly in the rough countryside, and she’s lost…
This concludes the story of Leowyn, the Rohirim shield maiden. I know Harnmaster is an unforgiving system, and I shouldn’t push it with a lone character, but the odds were with her in that last encounter. The dice weren’t. Two 100s! and a mook standing against a horse where I rolled 4! on 3d6 in the impact roll. It was meant for Leowyn to perish here.
Harnmaster is an absolute marvel with regards to combat. Both combats in this session were so graphic! I love it so much.
But, it suffers a lot in the general skill uses, with minimal guidance as to the difficulty grades.
In combat I loved the injury levels, shock rolls, stumbles, bleeds and all the small rules that exist to make things interesting.
On the other hand, I find that encumbrance is very limiting, and they offset it by giving weapon attack bonuses. I think I prefer the way Mythras or even MERP handles encumbrance, which is more realistic.
I want to continue my adventures in the Trollshaws, so I may be switching to Dwalin and Camthalion for my next session. Again, I’ll need to decide to either use Mythras, Harnmaster, or a hack of Mythras with Harnmaster combat. Some hacking and conversions are in order to achieve this.
I also must not forget that Mythras also has a Luck point meta mechanic that could save Leowyn from such fate.
With no minis available during travel time to play Five Leagues from the Borderlands, I went back to Solo RPGs.
I’ve decided to continue on Leowyn’s adventure from the Last Inn to Tharbad with the caravan. Putting the knowledge from my several plays of A Call to Glory, to use, I decided to go forward with Harnmaster as a system.
To do this I’ll have to convert Leowyn to the Harnmaster system.
For Harnmaster I will first try to convert the stat to the closest, and then fill in the rest of the stats with average values, or whatever makes sense.
Height: 65″
Frame: 8 (light)
Weight: 130lbs/5
Comeliness: 15
Strength: 15
Stamina: 14
Dexterity: 15
Agility: 17
Eyesight: 13
Hearing: 9
Smell: 11
Voice: 10
Intelligence: 13
Aura: 18
Will: 11
Morality: 11 (Law Abiding)
Occupation: Soldier/Huscarl/LH
Initiative/5, Foraging/4, Survival/4, Heraldry/2,
Physician/2, Weaponcraft/2
Riding/6, Initiative/6, Lance/6, Broadsword/5, Dagger/5,
Roundshield/5, Shorkana/4, Seamanship/3, Piloting/2
Optional Military:
Cookery/4, Engineer/2, Embalming/2,
Fishing/4, Fletching/2, Hidework/3,
Horsecraft/2, Law/2, Masonry/2,
Metalcraft/2
Parents: Herdsman: Animalcraft/4, Tracking/4, Survival/4, Weatherlore/4
CLIMBING (16): 64
JUMPING (16): 64
STEALTH (12): 36
THROWING (14): 56
AWARENESS (11): 44
INTRIGUE (14): 42
ORATORY (13): 26
RHETORIC (11): 33
SINGING (10): 30
INITIATIVE (13): 65
UNARMED (16): 64
Foraging (13): 52
Survival (14): 56
Heraldry (13): 26
Physician (14): 28
Weaponcraft (14): 28
Riding (14): 84
Lance (15): 90
Broadsword (15): 75
Dagger (14): 70
Roundshield (15): 75
Shorkana (15): 60
Seamanship (16): 48
Piloting (14): 28
Animalcraft (13): 26
Cookery (12): 48
Bow (14): 56
Weatherlore (12): 36
Chain Armor -> Mail Byrnie
Steel Helm -> Plate 3/4 Helm
Shield +20DB -> Round
Broadsword
Morningstar +5
Composite Bow -> Hartbow
35 arrows
Dagger
Horse
Clothes & Personal Effects
Belt Pouch (with money, Flint & Steel) _ 1 gp, 19 sp, 31 bp, 5 cp 24 tp
(Added up her share of the party pool plus 1 gp I forgot to award them for saving the cart and Ambald, to her personal pool).
On a rough conversion scale it seems that each MERP bp is about 2 Hârnic silver pennies, so that would mean that Leowyn has about 643 pennies and 2 farthings, a hefty amount. This is 2 pounds, 13 shillings, 7 pennies and 2 farthings.
The equipment was converted either at 1:1 or what was closest that made more sense.
The Hartbow is the elvish composite bow, but since MERP was more high fantasy than Hârn or Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I went along with it. I chose the 3/4 Plate Helm as the Rohir Steel Helm. Finally I decided that the Mail Byrnie is the equivalent to Chain Armor, based on the weight of each armor type. What worries me though is that Hârnmaster is way more gritty and realistic with regards to armor and wounds when compared to MERP, and usually armor is layered to cover many areas. The way this works right now, means that Leówyn is vulnerable at many unarmoured spots. I’m going along with it, and may have to purchase some armor to cover these at Tharbad, provided she survives that long.
Saddlebag (Bedroll, Lockpick kit, 25′ superior rope, 9 torches, waterskin, rations).
I went through the previous actual play reports and identified which situations justified an Experience roll, and proceeded to roll these. To each roll, the Skill Base is added, and if it’s greater than the Mastery Level of the Skill, its increased by 1.
The results per skill are as follows:
Broadsword: 7 rolls: 51,87,16,14,57,34,54: 1 increase (76)
Roundshield: 6 rolls: 80,74,32,21,23,80: 3 increases (78)
Bow: 1 roll: 48: –
Unarmed: 1 roll: 79: 1 increase (65)
Climbing: 1 roll: 5: –
Jumping: 1 roll: 68: 1 increase (65)
Stealth: 4 rolls: 37,93,16,28: 3 increases (39)
Initiative: 8 rolls: 63,17,37,93,44,54,86,55: 3 increases (68)
Riding: 1 roll: 13: –
Also as soon as the month changes, we’ll have 30 Skill Maintenance Points to spend, and as far as I recall, we’re only a few days away (it’s Hithui 26 when they ride out).
So a short recap:
Leówyn split from the party and has joined a Caravan heading south to Tharbad. She is paid 5f per day.
The caravan comprises of two carts drawn by a horse each, another guard called Enryn, Wyny the Caravan Master, Ambald the Teamster, Suse the Healer, and three hands, Berter, Eram, Sige. They have a spare horse that belonged to the downed guard Hreodhelm whose place Leówyn took.
Once they reach Tharbad she’ll probably look for a way to continue towards Gondor, to complete her personal task to get revenge from her lover’s killer.
Something that bothers me is that Leówyn first met the caravan outside of Bree on the East-West road. If they were meant for Tharbad then it’s most likely that they should have been on the Andrath Greenway. Maybe there’s a story there. It could be something as simple as avoiding a certain guard, or maybe something more foul. I’ll keep this as a possible thread.
Doing a quick count, it seems that Tharbad is 300 miles if they keep east, and go south in the Angle, to cross a bridge and keep south next to Mitheithel in order to stay on trails that the cart can traverse.
Weather (8) is cold, sky is overcast, winds are breezy and there’s sleet flurries.
Q: Has the caravan crew repaired the broken cart? (Likely)
A: No, and it’s not possible to repair it with the tools at hand. They’d need to be in a town or village with a carpenter.
Q: Can the goods fit on the other cart?
A: No, but, they can be spread amongst the horses and crew. The crew becomes baggage crew.
The axle of the cart has been split in half. With no carpenter nearby for miles, the crew carries the goods to the other cart. They load Hreodhelm’s horse and the broken cart horse with as much as they can carry without tiring them, and split the rest amongst them. It’s going to be a slow march south.
Encounter: 2: No encounter.
10 miles east.
Weather (10) is cold, sky is overcast, winds are a gale and there’s snow furries.
Encounter: 8: No encounter.
10 miles east. Reached crossroads to south.
Weather (9) is cool, sky is overcast, winds are windy and there’s light rain.
Encounter: 1: No encounter.
Camped.
Weather (9) is cool, sky is overcast, winds are windy and there’s light rain.
Encounter: 9: No encounter.
Camped.
Weather (8) is cold, sky is overcast, winds are breeze and there’s sleet flurries.
Encounter: 1: No encounter.
Camped.
Weather (9) is cool, sky is overcast, winds are a gale and there’s light rain.
Encounter: 13: No encounter.
Camped.
Weather (10) is cold, sky is overcast, winds are a gale and there’s sleet flurries.
Encounter: 2: No encounter.
Moved South 10 miles.
Weather (10) stays the same.
Encounter: 7: No encounter.
Moved South 10 miles.
They went through some ruins.
Q: Is there anything interesting in the ruins?
A: No, but they didn’t get close enough.
Weather (10) stays the same.
Encounter: 1: No encounter.
Camped.
Weather (10) stays the same.
Encounter: 19: 66: Reroll as Highway: 70: Reroll as Wilderness/Rural: 10: Farmer: 67: Villein/Wealthy Thrall: 45: At Leisure (non-work related): 92: Escaping the law/service.
Attitude: 47: indifferent
Time: 4/8: 10 pm.
Donjon: Eryel: Female Halfling Peasant, Evil. Eryel has copper hair and dark green eyes, and an unusual scar on her face. She wears well-made clothing and a wooden holy symbol. Eryel has a raven named Donny.
Q: Is Leówyn at watch?
A: Yes
Leówyn: Awareness: 40: CS
Eryel: Awareness: 44: MS
Leówyn detects Eryel first.
Now here’s a thought on how to work with meta knowledge on the fly.
First I need to split Character knowledge and Player (meta) knowledge. There’s also Derived knowledge that my character may deduct easily.
Character knowledge: Female, Hobbit. Indifferent. She has copper hair and dark green eyes, and an unusual scar on her face. She wears well-made clothing and a wooden holy symbol.
All the above are easily discernible. One can see them at first glance. So since these are given by the random tables and generators, I consider them as true.
Derived knowledge: Farmer, Villein/Wealthy Thrall. Peasant.
These can be deducted within moments, or by careful observation. The combination of the clothing style and their quality, along with the fact that it’s a hobbit living at the angle, means she’s a farmer quite high in the class. It’s quite likely she could even be a freeman or yeoman, therefore I’m keeping the derived knowledge results as highly likely. They may or may not need verification by the oracle. Essentially this is meta knowledge that is almost real, waiting to become character knowledge.
Meta knowledge: Escaping the law/service, Evil, name is Eryel, she has a raven named Donny.
None of these could be easily known to the Character. Unless Eryel gives this information or something extraordinary happens to reveal it, this all is in the sphere of imagination. The hobbit’s name could be Eryel or not, she could have a raven or not, but most importantly there’s no way to say she’s evil or that she’s escaping the law/service. So, the moment they come up, these may need to be verified by an Oracle if they’re story relevant.
With regards to the name’s relevance to the story, If the hobbit gives a name it is going to be Eryel, but it may or may not be true.
With regards to the rest, they’re story relevant, but will need to be verified.
Now there’s two ways I can go about this meta knowledge.
The first approach is to disregard it until it comes up. Until then, it’s like Schrödinger’s cat. It exists, buts it’s nor dead nor alive. Our information has been given, but it’s nor true nor false. The moment we look up into the box, is the moment we ask the oracle for verification. That’s mostly how I’ve dealt with meta knowledge given to me until now in my solo plays. Also that’s the main concept on how to solo play prewritten modules.
The second approach is the prejudice approach. The meta knowledge is character knowledge as to what the character believes is true. Call it hunch, cognitive experience, collective unconscious or whatever, but for some reason, my protagonist believes this hobbit is evil, she’s escaping from law/service and she heard a crow before she appeared (let’s not forget my protagonist’s previous encounter with crebain). What’s even more interesting is that all these fit together like puzzle pieces as we’re talking about a lone hobbit with a scar, walking in the middle of a cold winter night, in the Trollshaws. Therefore she will act with this prejudice, until it’s verified or not. This could be embarrassing or a lost opportunity if she’s wrong, but it will make the story even more interesting, give a behavioural approach to my protagonist and also give an extra reason for this additional information to exist instead of me trying to compartmentalise the knowledge away.
Another topic of interest is with regards to the following text in Hârnmaster:
Only significant encounters are detailed to the players. Scores of people may be seen while walking through a busy marketplace, but only a few are likely to interact with the PCs. A generated encounter is assumed to be at least potentially significant.
So what means significant in terms of solo play here? The way I interpret it, it’s an encounter that has the potential to evolve a story thread. It could be an existing or a new thread.
Beware though of two things: first it doesn’t have to be a main thread or story arch, secondly, it’s only potential. The encounter could be a dud, depending on how the player reacts.
It’s been two days that the caravan moves through the trollshaws without any issue. It’s not to wonder though that the trolls, orcs and hillmen would rather stay around warm fires than brave the snow and sleet flurries that are whipping the caravan.
They went eastwards on the highway for about a score of miles, and camped near a crossroads before continuing south on the trail. They passed by a few ruins, but dared not go closer. Winter time is when creatures feared by men make their homes at abandoned places.
They camped further south on the trail, near a few trees, and set up a few tarps so that they would be protected by the weather.
Winter nights are not only colder, but longer too, so Leówyn took the first shift on the 5th and 6th watches.
It’s around 10pm, when she notices a short figure in the distance. Shorter than dwarves, she knows it’s no goblin, but whoever travels alone in the middle of a cold winter night, may carry a dark story with them. She puts her hand on her sword hilt, and calls out to what she makes to be a hobbit.
“Halt! Who goes there?” She asks, giving away her position, but showing that she’s not afraid.
The hobbit steps closer.
“Just a weary traveler, Lady. May I join your company for the night?” asks a hobbit woman. She’s wearing well made clothing, and a wooden symbol hangs on her chest. She’s got copper hair and dark green eyes. What draws Leówyn’s attention though, is the deep scar running down her face. Something about her doesn’t seem right. She keeps her hand on the hilt, and looks to Wyny, see if he’s sleeping.
Q: Is Wyny sleeping?
A: False Presuposition. So it’s either that Wyny is not there or he’s dead (unlikely).
Q: Is Wyny missing?
A: Yes.
Ok, that’s interesting.
Leówyn looks around but she can’t find the Caravan master. How did he sneak out during her watch, and most importantly, why. She’ll have to decide on her own what to do with the uninvited guest.
So from the MERP Core rule book, I get that her Demeanor is Formal, Personality is Cautious and Alignment is Neutral.
“You may sit by the fire where I can see you, but you’ll have to surrender any arms you’re carrying, and place them by the cart. Come first morning light you’ll go your own way and we go ours.” She says.
Q: Does the hobbit agree?
A: No, Random Event.
Descriptors: Partially Warm
Actions: Praise Physical
“My lady. I’m not as strong as you are. I wouldn’t even consider turning against a warrior such as yourself. I could keep some distance if that would make you feel safer, even if that would mean I won’t be as warm as I’d like.”
So since we have a conflict here, I’ll turn to game mechanics.
Leówyn will use Rhetoric: 21/33: MS.
Leówyn draws her sword from the scabbard just enough that the blade itself is visible. “I think I made myself quite clear. I will not let a traveler freeze in the cold, but I won’t let the caravan get robbed either. If you won’t let go of your arms, then leave. Or I’ll have to make you leave.”
The hobbit nods. She reveals a long dagger, places it by the cart, and moves to the warmth of the fire.
Considering the events, the unexpected hobbit arrival and Wyny missing, Leówyn will wake up Enryn.
Q: Does Enryn go after Wyny?
A: No
Q: Does he stand guard? (Likely)
A: Yes
Leówyn goes to Enryn and wakes him up. She tells him about their visitor and about Wyny missing.
“You go, look for Wyny. I’ll stand guard here and watch over our guest.” The caravan guard replies.
She packs some gear, and heads out, torch in hand to see where the caravan master may have gone.
Since Leówyn hasn’t got a Tracking skill, I’ll have her use Awareness instead to see if there’s something obvious.
Leówyn: Awareness: 73: MF.
She can’t find anything.
After an hour or so, walking around in the dark of the night, around the camp, she can’t find any sign of Wyny, and Leówyn returns empty handed.
Q: Has Wyny returned maybe?
A: Yes
“There you are.” He says as Leówyn returns. “Thought you had abandoned your post, but Enryn filled me in.”
“I was looking for you. The timing of the little one’s appearance and your disappearance felt odd to me.” She replies.
“Just relaxing myself. Needed to hit the pot before a good nights sleep.” He looks at Enryn and continues. “I see the two of you have everything under control, so we’ll talk again in the morning.”
Weather (11) stays Cold, but it’s Snowing heavily now. Winds are North and Windy.
Encounter: 5: No encounter
Weather (11) stays the same.
Encounter: 5: No encounter
Weather (10) stays the same.
Q: Is Eryel there in the morning when Leówyn wakes up?
A: No
Q: Is everyone alright?
A: No, and stuff is missing.
Q: Is Enryn dead?
A: Yes, but no one else is hurt.
Okay so that escalated quickly. My first impression is that Leówyn’s instinct was correct. The hobbit was a murderer escaping from the law.
There’s a chance also that something else killed Enryn and Eryel got kidnapped or run away.
There’s plenty of questions that arise in either case. But let’s try to set the scene.
Q: Is there any sign of struggle?
A: Yes
Q: Is Enryn’s body away from the campsite? (Likely)
A: Yes, Intervention. 1: New Entity.
Q: Is it animal?
A: Yes
As the sunlight falls on her face, Leówyn wakes up. The rest of the party does, as well. Soon it hits her. Where’s Enryn? He should have woken her up.
She quickly gathers her gear and looks around. Further away, half buried in the snow is Enryn’s body in a pool of blood. The throat is mangled. Bite marks everywhere. The face has been eaten off, and if it weren’t for his gear, he’d be unrecognisable.
She looks for tracks, but the constant snowfall has covered everything.
She covers the body in the cloak, and drags it over to the caravan.
“Something attacked him at night.” She says to Wyny.
“And someone took lots of our food and some valuables.” He responds. “Probably that hobbit. Nasty little creatures. Can’t trust them. You thing she had something to do with him?”
“Doubt it. I think she saw an opportunity to rob us and took it, while Enryn fought for his life.” Leówyn thinks out loud. “She can’t have gone far, as she can’t ride our horses. And she didn’t scare them off because they’d have woken us. Want me to try to go after her?”
“The snow will have covered her light foot tracks.” He shakes his head. “What do you think killed Enryn?”
“I’d say a lone wolf, or considering how close we’re at the Trollshaws, a warg. Went for the throat first that’s why we didn’t hear a thing. It either didn’t notice the rest of us, or we were hid by the snow.”
“We need to bury him and move on. Guarding now doesn’t make much sense. I want you a bit ahead, scouting. If you see danger, gallop back to us.” Wyny orders her.
After handling everything, the caravan moves on.
Encounter: 9: No encounter
“What valuables?” Leówyn asks. “What are we selling to Tharbad?”
Leówyn: Rhetoric: 65: CF.
“I’m not paying you to ask questions. You’re meant to get us there. Leave the rest to us.” Wyny responds, obviously offended by the question.
Leówyn wanted also to ask for how many days their rations will last, in the middle of winter, but she feels like it’s not a good moment to do so.
They do have one less mouth to feed though, no matter how grim this sounds.
Development rolls:
Rhetoric: 15: No increase
Awareness: 44: No increase
Okay, so far I’m still getting the hang of Hârnmaster as a system.
I’ll have to read more into when to use opposed rolls and some generic difficulty penalties.
I think that with regards to mechanics it relies more heavily to rulings vs rules than I’d like. I’ll know for certain after a few more sessions.
As for heading south to Tharbad, at this pace I’m not sure the caravan will make it.
It’s very much likely they won’t. But it’s not like they have much choice. I’m thinking that there’s something not right with this caravan. Otherwise what could explain their odd path, odd time travelling, and unwillingness to discuss the cargo?
Again these are not just my thoughts, probably Leówyn also considers that in the back of her head, as she rides through the snow.
This leads me back to the approaches to meta knowledge. I’ve done some discussions on the matter, and may write a short blog post about it in the near future.
Here’s some Naga Swords and Naga Archers from the Alternative Armies Hordes of Things range.
I tried making my own DIY sand using Acrylic Matt Medium, Yellow Ochre Paint and Baking Soda. The texture came out nice but I wasn’t a huge fan of the colour since coverage wasn’t great and I had to apply wash and drybrush on top. Came out a bit darker than I’d like. The texture is right though. Next time I’ll apply it over a light brown undercoat and it should be fine.
Here’s a Cockatrice and a Chimera from Alternative Armies Hordes of Things range that I got a while ago and had them sketch primed waiting to be painted.
I finally finished them, and what I really enjoyed this time around was basing. I got me some packs of sand from the local dollar store, very cheap, in three different colours/shapes. There’s brown sand, gray sand and dark gravel. This means I no longer have to worry about painting, washing and drybrushing my bases. It’s brown paint -> glue -> carefully placed gravel -> sand spots -> grass -> let dry. That’s way faster than before. I always found basing boring (especially after going through the entire mini painting stage) but very important to have a nice looking mini. With this technique I get nice results in a single gluing step.
To expand my wraiths miniatures, here are 8 Wraiths from the Hordes of Things range by Alternative Armies.
Here’s some adventurers from the tabletop fantasy Asgard range by Alternative Armies. I really like these sculpts and how they’re armed to the teeth and carrying all their gear. I went with a bit different paints and basing than my standard fantasy, to make it feel like they’re in the dungeon (and gave the bases a grey instead of green rim).
Solo, Pen, Paper and Dice 
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